Newcomers: Sports, with Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus

Welp, we were sort of wrong to think there would be a lot of insights into the world of The Lord of the Rings in store for us with the 2019 biopic, Tolkien. But though it was a dry well to draw from, Lauren and Nicole still managed to enjoy some thought-provoking conversations with actor and writer Mike Castle (Brews Brothers, Clipped) around the concepts of separating the art from the artist, whether spoilers for a story are a good or bad thing, and the glamorization and embellishments that biopics often indulge in. The trio even display their most pretentious voices possible to set the record straight on this film with some snooty fact-checking!

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

Miniature Hobbiton Display

Fact Check article 1

Fact Check article 2

Trivia from IMDb

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After finishing both Peter Jackson trilogies, Lauren and Nicole are ready to decompress, have a laugh, and perhaps even learn a thing or two in this episode of Newcomers all about the memes, parodies, and other bits and bobs that have cropped up over the years surrounding the Lord of the Rings franchise.

Joined by actor, comedian and podcaster Paul Scheer (The League, Black Monday, How Did This Get Made?), the three will navigate all sorts of hilarity, ranging from comparisons between Gandalf and Betty White, to oddly relevant and topical jabs at peoples' responses to COVID-19. Later, Paul will introduce Lauren and Nicole to the deepest of deep cuts: rare footage of another well-known pointy-eared hero of pop culture singing a ballad for our dear Biblo, er... Diplo, er... Bilbo Baggins!

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

Amazon's Lord of the Rings production article

Betty White and the Balrog

Normal People vs. People with COVID-19

Let Boromir borrow it

Some form of Selfish

Denethor and the Tomato

A Simple Walk Into Mordor

Veggietales - Lord of the Beans

"Frodo, Don't Wear the Ring"

"The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins"

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Actor, writer and podcaster Zach Reino (A.P. Bio, Off Book: The Improvised Musical) joins Lauren and Nicole to close out the rollercoaster that has been the Hobbit trilogy with a deep dive into The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

With Zach's musical prowess, the three work together to devise the greatest LOTR musical ever, with one idea just being Bilbo asking/singing for his stuff back from his neighbors the whole time. They also do their actual very best to decipher who all five of the armies are, and to comprehend how Benedict Cumberbatch could have possibly provided a motion capture performance for a gigantic dragon. Stick around to find out if Lauren regrets her fulfilled wish of some dwarves being killed off!

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

GameRant article on the Gollum video game

Benedict Cumberbatch's MoCap session as Smaug

Trivia from MovieMistakes.com

Trivia from IMDb

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Moving on to what the trio will summarize as "The Dead Man's Chest of The Hobbit series", Lauren and Nicole are joined by writer and entertainment reporter Karen Han to shake off the liquid gold and hash out what they just experienced in the second installment of The Hobbit series, The Desolation of Smaug.

The three note the dramatically different portrayals of violence between the first and second movie, consider if a romantic interest's DISinterest in your favorite movies is ever a dealbreaker, and confess their struggle to feel invested in any of these characters unless they look like celebrities they know, or are Bilbo, sometimes. Kind of.

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

Amazon TV series news article by Radio Times

Trivia from Warped Factor

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Moving on from the acclaimed The Lord of the Rings trilogy and buckling in for an all new (and again, very long) adventure, Lauren and Nicole are joined by comedian/writer/actor Jon Braylock (Astronomy Club, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) to begin The Hobbit prequel trilogy, starting with An Unexpected Journey.

The three ponder how on earth Peter Jackson was able to stretch out a short children's book into the three-pronged behemoth the film adaptations became, while also learning that it was an absolute nightmare to create. We also learn about Lauren's early history with The Hobbit, where as a child she performed, as she describes, "as one of those three disgusting, naked things" in one of her first ever plays. Later on, we hear why Nicole thinks Sauron and Saruman should be called Carl and Gary instead. Hopelessly mixed emotions abound with this first installment of The Hobbit trilogy!

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

Article on The Hobbit's production chaos

Trivia from IMDb

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Having just finished their first watch through of the acclaimed Peter Jackson trilogy, Lauren and Nicole are joined this week by author, speaker and writer, Preeti Chhibber, to spend some time exploring the world of The Lord of the Rings fanfiction.

The trio navigate stories of varying excitement and severity, discovering their limits in both directions, from too tame to WAY too much. And, of course, they've written a few stories of their own. It's time to make things weird all over again with this new franchise! You knew this was coming...

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

Orlando Bloom interview

Preeti's article on (and picture of) Sidharth Malhotra, Indian Elf

Fan Fics:

The Steward's Sons

A Little Care

My Birthday Present

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Lauren and Nicole are joined by writers and LOTR fanatics Gaby Paiella (GQ) and Callie Beusman (The Cut) to close out the final installment of the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King.

The four of them venture fearlessly into topics of conversation such as who in the Fellowship has Big Dick Energy, why Callie thinks the Director's Cut is the only way to go (it has a lot to do with a particularly goofy-looking orc), the continued dissection of how the film creates such extreme illusions of size and proportion in characters, pondering why this franchise gets such universal acclaim versus all the backlash Star Wars constantly receives, and also, "Who the f*** is the Witch King!?"

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

"Which Lord of the Rings Characters Have Big Dick Energy?" article

Gaby's article on Vanessa Hudgens' Lord of the Rings themed birthday party

Trivia from IMDB

Trivia from MovieMistakes.com

Trivia from Mental Floss

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Helping Nicole and Lauren make sense of and, dare we say, enjoy, Peter Jackson's second installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers, is Mary Holland (Comedy Central's Robbie / Jedi Temple Challenge).

Listen in as they hash out points of varying importance such as how flawless Gandalf the White's new hair is, the finer details of Elven love and aging, the baffling games the films play on our perception of characters' sizes, and Mary's command of the Elvish language.

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

Trivia from Screen Rant

Trivia from Mental Floss

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Nicole and Lauren embark on their epic journey across Middle-earth, discussing the first installment of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring.

Your hosts can't do it alone, though. Jon Gabrus (The High & Mighty, The Action Boyz) returns to the pod to guide his friends through the first steps of their quest. And if you thought the #1 fuccboi nerded-out hard with Star Wars, you've heard nothing yet. Nothing.

Sure, they discuss the plot, but that's secondary to the important stuff: Who in the Fellowship is a daddy? What are they smoking in those pipes? Why do the wizards have a breakdance fight? What are any of these characters' names? Why is everyone white? Where the hell is Gollum?

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

Fellowship of the Ring Trivia from IMDB

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Nicole and Lauren are back at it again with experiencing more critical pop culture for the first time. In season 2 of Newcomers, they'll be taking on The Lord of the Rings, starting with the Peter Jackson trilogy!

Joined by their own fellowship of LOTR fans, ranging from fellow comedians to creators involved in the franchise, Nicole and Lauren will be in good company, being guided both safely and absurdly through their new journey to Middle-Earth.

Subscribe today and catch the first episode of the new season, launching 8/18!

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