Gobbledygeek

Deception is as American as apple pie. Elizabeth and Philip Jennings are well aware of this--they're Russian spies under deep cover as a suburban couple in the U.S., after all. Their new next door neighbor, FBI Agent Stan Beeman, threatens to throw a wrench into their long con. Over the course of The Americans season 1, there are plenty of twists, turns, betrayals, and confessions. Wesley "Wezzo" Mead has infiltrated the podcast to join Paul and Arlo as they begin a retrospective on Joe Weisberg's critically acclaimed but criminally underseen FX series. The gang discusses the tremendous work by leads Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys; how the show is a little pulpier and fast-moving than they remembered; the characters' vacillating beliefs in each other and the systems they move within; and, of course, all those wigs.

NEXT: Hollywood post-production supervisor Michael Holland flies in for a look at The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Take note, Jennings--Soviet agents can be reformed!

BREAKDOWN

00:00:51 - Intro / Guest

00:03:45 - Main Topic

01:50:05 - Outro / Next

MUSIC

• "Tusk" by Fleetwood Mac, Tusk (1979)
• "Games Without Frontiers" by Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel (1980)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• Support AAPI communities and those affected by anti-Asian violence: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
• Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund: https://aapifund.org/
• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Advocate for writers who might be owed money due to discontinuance of royalties: https://www.writersmustbepaid.org/
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

We've all been isolated, to some degree, for the last year. Austin Allan James' debut feature Who's With Me?, available for free on YouTube, perfectly captures the sense of loneliness and paranoia to which many of us have become accustomed. His film was also almost entirely finished pre-pandemic. Paul and Arlo talk with Austin about his clairvoyant powers, working on a shoestring budget, the inspiration he draws from filmmakers such as David Lynch and Joel Potrykus, how much of a fee turtles can demand, and what it all means, man.

NEXT: at long last, we go undercover with Wesley "Wezzo" Mead for a discussion of The Americans season 1.

BREAKDOWN

00:00:52 - Intro / Guest

00:04:40 - Main Topic

01:08:25 - Outro / Next

LINKS

• Who's With Me? - Full Feature (2021 Sci-Fi, Drama, Horror) [YouTube]

MUSIC

• "Locked Inside" by Reef, Rides (1999)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• Support AAPI communities and those affected by anti-Asian violence: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
• Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund: https://aapifund.org/
• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

This is a freestyle episode, so you better believe Paul and Arlo talk about all manner of goofy shit, but--there's also kind of a topic too? Look, we make this stuff up as we go along, get that look off your face. Arlo watched John Carpenter's 1981 cult classic Escape from New York for the very first time, and he absolutely loved it. He and Paul rave about the movie, its highly relatable cynicism, and its amazing music...which leads Arlo to proffer a shocking apology. The stick up his ass, it's gotten a little shorter over the years. Plus, an in-depth breakdown of This Is Us' timeline and an exploration of why roasts suck. Sponsored by the adult toy purveyor of your choice!

NEXT: indie filmmaker Austin Allan James joins us to discuss his debut feature, Who's With Me.

MUSIC

• "Escape from New York (Main Title)" by John Carpenter, Escape from New York (Original Film Soundtrack) (1981)
• "Bandstand Boogie" by Les Elgart (1954)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Support AAPI communities and those affected by anti-Asian violence: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
• Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund: https://aapifund.org/
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

We're all about lending a hand here at Gobbledygeek, so for this month's Four-Color Flashback, we're slicing and dicing our way through Daniel Warren Johnson's Extremity. The ultra-violent 12-issue series follows Thea, an artist who lost a core piece of her identity when a rival clan chopped off her drawing hand. As her father leads their clan on a bloodthirsty quest for revenge, she and her brother Rollo must question whether they will perpetuate this endless cycle of violence. Paul and Arlo discuss the series' surprising commitment to pacifism, Johnson's insanely detailed artwork, why the book's violence isn't at odds with its intent, and some quirky sound effects.

NEXT: tune in to find out.

BREAKDOWN

00:00:28 - Intro / Guest

00:01:46 - Main Topic

01:29:55 - Outro / Next

MUSIC

• "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles (1970)
• "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA, Super Trouper (1980)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• Support AAPI communities and those affected by anti-Asian violence: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
• Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund: https://aapifund.org/
• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

When we're not contracting coronavirus, we're contracting people to work on our houses. And sometimes those people, too, can be a plague. Paul and Arlo commiserate over uncomfortable contractor experiences, uncomfortable evangelicalism, and the uncomfortable intersection of those two very uncomfortable things. In other news, baby-faced Paul got his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and had to deal with some folks getting way too up in his personal space. Are we ready for a return to normal? No. No, we are not. Plus, we remember to talk pop culture and chat about the Oscar nominations.

NEXT: Paul decides on air during this very episode that next week will be this month's Four-Color Flashback, discussing Vols. 1 & 2 of Daniel Warren Johnson's Extremity.

MUSIC

• "Comfort Eagle" by Cake, Comfort Eagle (2001)
• "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues (1982)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. After two long years in the Marvel Cinematic Universe desert, since Avengers: Endgame and its postscript Spider-Man: Far from Home, Marvel's mightiest are back on the air. For the first MCU series on Disney Plus, we have WandaVision, a TV show that is very much about TV shows and what the medium means to us. The comfy-cozy sitcom rhythm of the show, as Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany's Vision make-believe they're on the sets of The Dick Van Dyke Show or Family Ties, is interrupted by unsettling reminders of where we left these characters. Wanda was grieving--because Vision was dead. What's going on here? Don't change that channel, because Paul, Arlo, and special guest Michael Holland--currently post-production supervisor on The Afterparty--discuss how showrunner Jac Schaeffer and director Matt Shakman channel grief, capture the nostalgic spirit of old TV, weaponize fan expectations, and more.

NEXT: we'll be back, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.

BREAKDOWN

00:00:50 - Intro / Guest

00:05:53 - WandaVision

01:51:39 - Outro / Next

LINKS

• Michael's Blog - Holland Imaginarium
• How the 'WandaVision' Creator Brought Her Vision (and Wanda's) to Life by Dave Itzkoff, The New York Times
• 'WandaVision' Creator on That Ending, Wanda Criticism, and Why Paul Bettany Is Allowed to Troll by Liz Shannon Miller, Collider
• 'WandaVision': Let's Break Down What Those Commercials Reveal About the Show's Mystery by Tom Reimann, Collider
• 'WandaVision': MCU Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed by Allie Gemmell, Collider

MUSIC

• "A Newlywed Couple" by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, WandaVision (2021)
• "Agatha All Along (feat. Kathryn Hahn)" by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, WandaVision (2021)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

What's more American than ruthless bastards sucking dry the poor, hardworking souls that make this country what it is--all in the name of progress? We're not just talking about capitalism here, we're also talking about the bloodthirsty monsters at the heart of Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque's American Vampire. For this month's Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo sink their fangs into the first two volumes of Snyder and Albuquerque's (with an assist from Stephen King) decades-spanning Vertigo series. The boys discuss how Snyder charts the path of American history through three distinct time periods; the seriously cool vampire taxonomy; Albuquerque's ghastly, gorgeous art; the way King cusses; and, yes, what the book says about capitalist conquest. Plus, Paul chills with three very different Netflix projects: Moxie, Ginny & Georgia, and Behind Her Eyes.

NEXT: Michael Holland, post-production supervisor on American Horror Story and ABC's For Life, joins us to discuss Disney+'s first MCU series, WandaVision.

BREAKDOWN

00:00:50 - Intro

00:07:14 - American Vampire

01:34:36 - Outro / Next

MUSIC

• "American Girl" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1977)
• "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves, Walking on Sunshine (1985)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

In honor of the late Christopher Plummer, Paul and Arlo host a Geek Challenge with two films featuring one of Canada's greatest. First, Paul has Arlo watch Mike Nichols' 1994 horror (?) film Wolf, starring Jack Nicholson as a middle-aged book editor who finds the beast inside courtesy of a wolf bite (with a five-minute cameo from a scenery-chewing Plummer). Then, Arlo makes Paul watch Michael Mann's 1999 ripped-from-the-headlines thriller The Insider, with Russell Crowe as a scientist taking on Big Tobacco, Al Pacino as the journalist trying to tell his story, and Plummer doing one hell of a job as Mike Wallace. Plus, Paul tries to get Arlo to watch Craig McCracken's new animated series Kid Cosmic.

NEXT: the boys sharpen their fangs on a Four-Color Flashback discussion of the first two volumes of Scott Snyder, Stephen King, and Rafael Albuquerque's American Vampire.

BREAKDOWN

00:00:55 - Intro / Kid Cosmic

00:10:29 - Wolf

00:55:45 - The Insider

01:49:45 - Pointless tangent about the term "bucket list" (We're sorry.)

01:52:54 - Outro / Next

MUSIC

• "Wolf Like Me" by TV On The Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)
• "Iguazu" by Gustavo Santoalalla, Ronroco (1998)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

Two hosts, unalike in dignity, in fair Gobbledygeek, where we set our podcast. For this month's Four-Color Flashback, Paul and Arlo pull out a boombox blasting Romeo and Juliet side B. In Prince of Cats, Ronald Wimberly passes the mic to Juliet's cousin Tybalt, a sideways entry point into the events that lead to and inform the soapy classic. Oh, and did we mention this version stars a Black cast living in an '80s NYC where everybody participates in an underground samurai swordfighting ring? The boys discuss Wimberly's ingenious distortion of Shakespearean language; his manga-influenced art; how the book enriches (perhaps even improves upon?) the play; and what it means to tell this story from a race-conscious perspective.

NEXT: oh hey, it's that Christopher Plummer Geek Challenge we promised. Mike Nichols' Wolf and Michael Mann's The Insider go head-to-head.

BREAKDOWN

00:00:48 - Intro / Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet

00:23:00 - Prince of Cats

01:03:45 - (Interlude: Paul reads NSFW Shakespearean dialogue from Prince of Cats)

01:55:08 - Outro / Next

LINKS

• Lighten Up by Ronald Wimberly, The Nib

MUSIC

• "Step Off" by Grandmaster Melle-Mel & The Furious Five (1984)
• "Sucker M.C.'s" by Run-DMC, Run-DMC (1983)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

I am a podcast. This week, Paul and Arlo are joined by Wesley Mead to unravel the mystery of Derek DelGaudio's stage show In & Of Itself, now available on Hulu in a filmed version directed by none other than Frank Oz. Truth be told, if truth is a concept you believe in, the gang doesn't do much unraveling. No, that would be beyond the point. Instead, they discuss how the show makes them feel and what it reveals about the relationship between one human being and another. Magic, wolves, self-identity, and the communal experience all make an appearance. Plus, Wezzo tells us how the UK is faring with lockdown, and Arlo raves about Merawi Gerima's stunning feature debut Residue.

NEXT: I'll meet you in another life, when we are both cats. This month's Four-Color Flashback is all about Ronald Wimberly's take on Romeo and Juliet, 2012's Prince of Cats.

BREAKDOWN

00:00:55 - Intro / Guest

00:23:37 - Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself

01:52:12 - Outro / Next

LINKS

• How Derek DelGaudio Pulled Off the Astonishing 'In & Of Itself' by Matt Wilstein, The Daily Beast
• Here Are All the Celebrity Cameos in Derek DelGaudio's In & of Itself by Matthew Dessem, Slate

MUSIC

• "Dog and Wolf" by Green Dolphin Street, Boozekilla (2017)
• "I Am" by AWOLNATION, Run (2015)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/