We interrupt our regularly scheduled mini-series with a BONUS FEATURE as we return to the Rocky franchise for a look at its latest entry, 2023’s CREED III.

Eight years after stunning the boxing world with his electric debut against “Pretty” Ricky Conlan, Adonis Creed has hung up the gloves. Retired as a fighter and ready to settle down with his wife and young daughter, Donnie has his eyes set on the future, but his past has finally caught up with him in the form of Damian “Diamond Dame” Anderson, a childhood friend who lost 18 years to the California Correctional Institution for a crime Adonis may have played a part in. Dame wants the shot that was stolen from him and he’ll do anything to get it back, even if it means breaking Donnie- Inside the ring and out.

Nick and Scott return to the emotional and epic Rocky universe with the biggest, boldest installment yet, this time directed by The Champ himself, Michael B. Jordan. Ding, ding.

Next Week: SCREAM VI

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

It’s a Betweenisode!

Join Nick & Scott as they discuss the conclusion of the Star Trek mini-series, the future of the franchise, rank all 13 films, and announce our next mini-series (beginning on May 5th)!

Next Week: CREED III

FRANCHISE POTENTIAL: Lost in Space (1998) episode now available on PATREON!

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Patreon Associate Producers: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After the controversy of Into Darkness, and in need of a new Trek film for its 50th anniversary, Paramount wanted a fresh take with a safe, geek-friendly writer, so they turned to actor/writer Simon Pegg and paired him with an up-and-coming co-writer from the Bad Robot stable named Doug Jung. Together with Fast & Furious franchise director Justin Lin, they created 2016’s STAR TREK BEYOND, a film that manages to straddle the line between being anti-Star Trek and unapologetically Star Trek, simultaneously.

Joining Nick and Scott on their final Trek is returning guest Cass Fredrickson to discuss this supremely underrated love letter to everything Star Trek represents.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

2009’s Star Trek was a huge success and a sequel was greenlit quickly, but with Abrams busy making Super 8, writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci turned in a script that was too long and didn’t feature a traditional villain, sending Paramount into a development tizzy. So, fresh off of LOST, producer Damon Lindeloff joined the writing team to help bring the ship in for a landing.

Ultimately a film was made that seemed confused about Trek morality, brought in an iconic villain but lied to audiences about his inclusion, and featured an unsettling amount of 9/11 truther conspiracy theories that resulted in the sudden ending of a writer’s career. Join Nick and Scott on a wild ride through 2013’s controversial STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS.

No guests. Just vibes.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

We interrupt your previously scheduled mini-series with a Franchisography Bonus Special!

Round 1 of this year’s Listener Pick Tournament is over and Nick & Scott are here to discuss where the choices made by our listeners on Discord and Patreon have led us. There were surprising victories, devastating losses, and obvious frontrunners. Let’s break it down.

Daily match-ups end March 31st!

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After the failure of Nemesis, the Star Trek brand was put on ice for a while only to be resurrected as a reboot (which was the style at the time) that was also a sequel (which was not) in an effort to appease both old fans and attract new ones. After successfully revitalizing the Mission: Impossible franchise, Paramount turned to Bad Robot and director JJ Abrams to put a new spin on the original crew. The result was 2009’s STAR TREK, a crowd-pleasing, action-oriented summer blockbuster that felt like a fresh take on an old favorite. 

Nick & Scott begin the final leg of their journey through the Star Trek film franchise as they enter the Kelvin Universe with film critic Tyler Harlow.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

The creative and commercial failure of Insurrection required a slight reset. Producer Rick Berman was determined to continue the TNG film franchise, but Paramount was hesitant. Ultimately, to get the next film greenlit, Berman would have to agree to hire a creative team from outside of Trek canon. Luckily, by random happenstance, actor Brent Spiner (Data) would meet Gladiator scribe John Logan through a friend of a friend and learn that he was a massive Trek fan who was extremely interested in writing the next installment. With Logan on scripting duties and total Trek outsider Stuart Baird hired to direct the film, STAR TREK: NEMESIS went into production.

It did not go well.

Top Gun Minute host Brian Boucher joins Nick and Scott to discuss the final flight of the TNG crew and how it works as a transitional film into the Kelvin universe.

FRANCHISE POTENTIAL: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) episode now available on PATREON!

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After the success of First Contact, writers Braga & Moore decided to go out on top and leave Star Trek behind as they moved on with their writing careers, leaving producer Rick Berman in search of a new writer. With his role on TNG and DS9 behind him, Berman turned to Trek series showrunner Michael Piller to take over screenwriting duties on the next film. What started with the intention of a comedic tone in the vein of The Voyage Home evolved into an homage to Heart of Darkness and a love letter to Gene Roddenberry’s vision for Star Trek.

What we ultimately got from returning director Jonathan Frakes, however, was STAR TREK: INSURRECTION, a film that attempts to accomplish all three concepts simultaneously, while doing none of them particularly well.

Trekkie Alex Montgomery joins Nick and Scott to discuss what happened and why this feature film feels more like a lackluster episode of television

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After the success of Generations, it was time for the TNG crew to try and make a go of it on their own. Producer Rick Berman returned to writers Braga & Moore for the screenplay with two stipulations: it had to include time travel and the fan-favorite villainous species The Borg. For the director, Berman turned to cast member Jonathan Frakes who had directed many episodes of the TV series and would be making his feature directorial debut.

The resulting film is STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT, quite possibly the best Star Trek film ever made.

Guest and theme song composer Scott Tofte doesn’t detect any leaks as he finally joins Nick & Scott to gush about this fantastic science fiction adventure.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

With The Undiscovered Country, the original Enterprise crew had taken their final bow and with the end of The Next Generation on the horizon after seven seasons, it was time for Picard’s crew to pick up the mantle of Big Screen Trek. Enter producer Rick Berman, who turned to the people who had been making TNG successful on television to bring them to the big screen: writers Brannon Braga & Ronald D. Moore and director David Carson.

But how can you make a Next Generation movie without passing the baton? How can you do it without having Picard meet Kirk? You don’t. And so STAR TREK: GENERATIONS became a transitional film that bridged the gap between the two Enterprise crews.

Joining Nick & Scott in space heaven is returning guest Travis Bow to make sense of this rocky start for the Next Generation series of Trek films.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra