Down To Watch

Considered one of the best shows of the year, the DTW gang knew they would need to assemble to discuss one of the most creative and uniquely fresh new takes on what a TV show can be while set in a post-pandemic world.   Returning guest, Hannah, joins Dan and Raul to breakdown this complex, time-shifting new HBO Max limited series; a great heartfelt and humanistic take on what the world during an apocalypse could potentially look like if actor's kept the performance alive!   Filled with dynamic characters involved in complicated and intricately soulful relationships, Station Eleven has a ton to say about the human experience, and luckily the human DTW peoples are here to discuss what makes this a truly great artful work.

Your friendly neighborhood podcast is back for multiverse-mayhem across the MCU in Spider-Man: No Way Home! Down to Watch doesn't stray too far into the Marvel forest without stalwart guide Jonnie, and he's back to help Dan and Raul wrap up the Hawkeye series and comment on Peter Parker's latest mind-bending adventure and it's impact on the gargantuan film series. Before that, the trio check in on their Book of Boba Fett progress and even have a couple of opinions on the new Peacemaker series on HBO Max. All the big sci-fi fantasy franchises are revving up for 2022, and this is a podcast about it!

Starting the year off strong, Down to Watch checks in on the final season of podcast favorite, Pen15! Natalia is back to join Dan and Raul in wrapping up this coming of age story penned and performed by the women who lived it. A show that has gained a fervent following, Pen15 is ending on it's creators' terms and this DtW trio has some thoughts on the end of the road and plenty to say about how it relates to real experience. But, do these hilarious ladies of comedy stick the landing or fumble the follow through? Answers inside the pod!

New Year, new shows! The last Down to Watch of 2021 is here with a bunch of shows to jump into this January. Dan and Raul take a quick look at last month's upcomings and what they each think of the "best TV show of the 2021", before launching into what 2022 is gonna start off with. This monthly preview includes Suicide Squad spinoff Peacemaker, ensemble mystery murder comedy The Afterparty, heartfelt dramadies, spooky stop motion mice, and more! Dan looks forward to returning favorites, Raul notes the odd outliers and everyone starts the year off great! Come join us!

DTW begins a new discussion series based on 90's genre movies that deserve a rewatch, as they could be potentially under-appreciated gems or simply films of the time that are essential to the era.  Today, Dan and Raul dive into the chilly frozen waters of an action/adventure movie not widely on many lists as a Christmas classic, but the guys seek to uncover if this really deserves to be considered as worthy of the moniker or if it has aged so poorly it should just be left on the back of the shelf to wither away along side the other dusty VHS tapes lost to time in the digital era!

A DTW December kicks off on Disney+ with an unconventional Christmas story in Marvel's Hawkeye! Dan and Raul are joined by their Marvel/MCU guide, Jonnie, as the first 3 episodes (of a total 6 to be released; DTW will be back to cover 4-6 once the series wraps) establish the Hawkeye-in-waiting, Kate Bishop, who seems to be a very young yet extremely physically talented and quick-witted hero.  The conversation bounces back and forth between opinions on the show and prognostications on where the big Phase-4 story is going; is the show on target so far or will the trick arrows explode midair? Who knows, that's probably a good thing on this show!

As the year comes to a close, DtW has one more round of monthly premieres for December to keep your Movie and TV landscape wide while the new year prepares to launch. Dan and Raul go over your television/streaming options for this holiday season, including discussions about returns from the Always Sunny crew and the ladies from Pen15, brand new offerings from Gordon Ramsay and David Fincher, biopics and Boba Fetts on the small screen. 

Big screen-wise, the end of year stretch is covered in high profile content like the Spielberg helmed West Side Story remake and Matrix and Spiderman sequels, big budget dramadeys like Being the Ricardos and Don't Look Up, even close looks at indie film in the documentary Shooting Clerks. There's even more stuff on the ep but your're gonna have to listen to be properly prepared for the final countdown...to 2022!!!

Hey there, space cowboys! This week Netflix has released their live-action adaptation of one of the most critically acclaimed, enduring and beloved Japanese animated series, Cowboy Bebop! Dan steps into the world of Shinichiro Watanabe's self proclaimed space-jazz stories for the first time, but listeners of Down to Watch might know Raul is an old fan of the original action sci-fi noir series, and is worried about its transition to Netflix. Did the big red "N" release a fun-with-guns karate caper or will the notes fall flat on an overproduced mistranslation? Answers await on your weekly dose of Down to Watch!

This week on Down to Watch, Dan and Raul head west for frontier gunplay set to modern music with the Netflix original film, The Harder They Fall. First up, the guys toss around ideas and opinions on Shang Chi now that it is available on Disney+, and what the current "phase 4" set of films means for the future of the MCU. The conversation quickly moves to the main event, a western with an incredible cast, a director called, The Bullitts (he's involved in music and writing too), and a unique perspective on the cowboy film world. Was it a crack-shot bullseye for the DtW posse or does this wild west hootenanny end in tarnation? Go listen to the ep or else more cowboy words!

The biggest film in recent memory has graced our big screens (and small ones...but go see it BIG!) finally after a long delay, Dune is here and we are all the better for it!   New guest, Jason, joins Dan and Raul this week to discuss this sci-fi epic that should be considered a modern classic as it has bewitched both fans and critics with its wonderful translation of the source material once thought to be unfilmable.  The guys discuss the origin of Frank Herbert's book (sand dune stuff & religious interests with pal L. Ron Hubbard), how religion is used in both film and book, a few notes on Lynch's Dune as well as director, Denis Villaneuve and the way he transfixes us film after film.