Regular Joes Podcast

This week, the Regular Joe’s joined by Irregular Joe’s, Derryl DePriest and Brian Mix, revisit the Marvel Cinematic Universe Catalog from a different perspective, or perhaps a few different perspectives. Ultimately the question becomes which, Marvel films do you find compelling enough to rewatch, whether you stumble upon them while randomly channel surfing, spot them while scrolling the channel menu, queue up a streaming channel, or if you’re really old-school, loading physical media. Along the way, it becomes clear that there’s apparently no one way to watch TV. Some find other’s methods unusual, still others are downright perplexed why anyone would ever watch a reformatted, edited, commercial interrupted, fragment of a film they own. There’s also the usual Random Topics, and a round of What’s in the Box which includes a Holy Grail Barry has been seeking for a very long time. Thanks for listening!

This week a pair of C list characters from DC and Marvel debut new limited run series on Max and Disney+. Agatha all along is a spin off of WandaVision (2021) and a reimagining of Witch Agatha Harkness, a supporting character in Marvel comics going back to 1970. The Penguin aka Oswald Cobblepot, (here renamed Oswald Cobb) has been a Batman adversary since 1941. More recent outings have morphed him from an umbrella and fowl obsessed novelty villain into a grotesque, twisted and sinister character. This most recent incarnation from The Batman (2022) casts an unrecognizable Colin Farrell as a low-level mobster on the rise in a recently broken Gotham City. One episode in, which of these two offerings do the Regular Joe’s find the most engaging? The Joe’s also take a first look at an extended teaser/trailer for Thunderbolts* and cover the usual Random Topics.  Thanks for listening!

Back in the day, when large console TVs dominated American living rooms, the harsh reality of back to school was blunted by the fact that September also heralded the premiere of the new Fall TV shows. That era is long behind us. ABC, CBS and NBC no longer hold sway over our viewing habits, as cable and streaming options offer seeming infinite choices of content year round. So, are there still upcoming things this fall worth watching? The Regular Joes dig in, with some optimism, a fair bit of skepticism, and a dose of, “we’ll wait and see.” There’s also the usual random topics, and a virtual cornucopia of other segments some not revisited for several years. Thanks for listening!

This week Barry, Brian, Dave and Tod take a look at two films nearly old enough to collect Social Security. Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) is an often mentioned childhood favorite of Dave’s which claims to be “Scientifically Authentic.” Which might be credible had the film been made in 1864. On the plus side, it has Adam West (briefly) and a monkey in a space suit, so how bad can it be? An automated distress beacon draws an unsuspecting ship to a barren planet. The crew find a derelict spacecraft once piloted by gigantic beings. And ultimately fall prey to creatures seeking host bodies. Several plot elements of Brian’s suggestion, Planet of The Vampires (1965) will seem familiar. The low budget Italian film, directed by the legendary Mario Bava, is surprisingly entertaining despite, SPOILER having no actual vampires. There’s also the usual Random Topics, and a round of What’s in the Box. Thanks for listening!

This week the Regular Joes gathered for their annual summer barbecue. It’s rare that the hosts are in one place at one time, and it’s even less often that their spouses are all together as well. This time around, in an exercise that at least one of the hosts thought might “end badly,” the Joe’s asked questions of their wives. Some of the answers are surprising, some not so much.  It's the no What’s in the Box, no Random Topics, all Wives edition of the Regular Joes Podcast.  As always, Thanks for Listening!

An Aliens franchise film is not typically the sort of thing the goes unnoticed. Nevertheless Aliens: Romulus snuck up on the Joes like a Xenomorph in a tight crawl space. Unless you have been living on a distant mining colony you have likely heard Romulus is both doing well at the box office and has found favor with viewers and critics alike. Something the last four films largely failed to do. The Joes dig into the, often familiar, elements that make Alien Romulus both a good sequel and good onboarding film for those new to the franchise. Note: there will be SPOILERS. They also catch up on Random Topics and do a quick round of What’s in the Box. Thanks for listening!

This week Brian Mix stops by to catch up on his recent barnstorming tour across the country. The who, what, where and when of the events and conventions he hit leave the other Joes seriously jealous of Brian’s “retirement.” Barry and Dave also attended a con , yes just one. But, based on their report, TerrificCon sounds … well, terrific. If you doubt this we need only say two words, “Cobie Smulders.” And of could, there’s also a pretty extensive run down of Random topics. Thanks for listening!

This week the Regular Joes let Tod talk about Batman the Caped Crusader, the animated series he has been waiting for since 1995 (when Fox dumbed down Batman the Animated series). Does this simultaneously updated and retro take on The Dark Knight hold up to Paul Dini’s original series? Could Anything? You will likely need to watch more than one episode to find out. Next up the Talk D 23 the DisneyPalooza of Theme Park, MCU, Star Wars and every thing else Disney announcements. And then they talk about House of Dragons, for a minute or so. There’s also 2/3 of a round of What’s in the Box and the usual Random topics. Thanks for listening!

There are people who say the era of Summer blockbusters is behind us. There are also people who say audiences are done with superhero films, and that Marvel Studios has lost its way. Then Deadpool & Wolverine happened, and the three-quel for Marvel’s most annoying, talkative and violent (yes, this includes the Punisher) character, breaks all the rules and has fun doing it. Despite two years of teasers and countless trailers there were still several surprises for the Regular Joes. And they break down the high points, and the … slightly lesser high-points. If you’re one of those folks who likes when the Joes disagree, you may be disappointed with this episode. There will be SPOILERS. They also catch up on Random Topics from the week they were off, do a quick round of What’s in the Box … and we discover “Dave’s Willow.” Thanks for listening!

The last few weeks have been rough on Barry. Few people have as deep and abiding love for Star Wars as he does. But, sometimes love hurts. While other, so-called Star Wars fans, wanted nothing more than to tear down The Acolyte, Barry did his best to remain optimistic. And with the courage and valor of a Jedi (at least what we used to expect from a Jedi) he maintained hope til the very end. This week the Regular Joes, plus Jedi Master Brian Mix, perform a postmortem on The Acolyte. What were its strengths, and where did it come up short? The question remains, how do you have all the tools for greatness and put together something that looks like this? Hopefully lessons were learned. And now we turn our hopes to Skeleton Crew and Andor season 2. Thanks for listening!