Regular Joes Podcast

A farm boy dreams of a life of adventure and finds his place in a Galaxy Far, Far Away. We could be talking about Luke SkyWalker, but it is actually this week's guest Micheal McMaster, droid builder extraordinaire. You may not know his name but you have seen his work in the recent Star Wars Films and series on Disney+. Micheal sits down with the Regular Joes and mutual friend Brian Mix to talk about his journey, his robots, and what it takes to bring animated characters like Pixar's WALL-E, and Chopper from Rebels, to real life. With Mouse Droids, Astromechs, even a full scale probe droid, for Micheal no project is too big or too small. In a special What's on My Workbench segment he shares his progress on one his recent efforts, easily the most well known robot in sci-fi history. Thanks for listening!

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is in theaters. The artifact at the center of this James Mangold directed sequel teases the possibility of rewriting history, which is not much different than than goal of this fifth and final Indy film. After the much panned Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) will audiences warm up to this second, or arguably, third pass at closing out the Indy saga? Can the old formula of frantic street chases, Nazi punches, and near death escapes that made Raiders of the Lost Ark the greatest adventure film ever, bring it home one last time? As always the odds are against him, but Indy is, well, Indy. So the Regular Joes will be there cheering him on. Da, da, dum da, da, da, dum... Thanks for listening!

After what seems an interminable wait (actually 11 months and 14 days) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season two has launched on Paramount +. Pike, Spock, Number One, and the whole crew are back in the much lauded prelude to the original series. The Regular Joes give their thoughts on the first few episodes as the settle in for a sophomore season that promises more Trek that actually feels like Trek. Next the Joes close out their epic turn at ranking nearly half a decade of super hero this week covering the range from Logan to The Flash, including some the highest highs and lowest lows of the Marvel and DC cinematic Universes. All this plus the usual Random Topics, a round of what's in the box and some eleventh hour anxiety over Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Thanks for Listening!

It's been a long time coming but DC's The Flash is finally in theaters. A fact which has not seemed to motivate a large portion of the movie going public. While the scarlet speedster's solo (In name only) outing is failing at the box office, and with critics, it has been well received by viewers, like out hosts, who have actually seen it. Find out why the Regular Joes place this movie in the top tier of DC films. Note: there will be SPOILERS, but most of the bigger reveals are already in the wild. Speaking of rankings, the Joes also continue with the next third of their comprehensive superhero film review, this time covering the glory days of the early MCU, and a few of DC's worst offerings. "Martha!" And, of course, there's also the usual Random Topics. Thanks for listening!

After a two week hiatus the Regular Joe's are back. Dave left the country, but thanks to extradition treaties he's back behind the mic to tell us all about his exploits. After the hosts get caught up they dive into part 1 of their epic rating rundown of all the DC/Marvel (mostly) Superhero films since 1978. There are quite a few surprises, as well as several films you haven't thought of in years...and a few others you wish you could forget, but with this week's long awaited release of The Flash, it seemed like a good time to get caught up on the benchmarks. There's also the usual Random Topics around What's in the box. Thanks for listening!

OK, so here's the elevator pitch. We cast two really attractive people, one man, one woman. We establish a little chemistry, then we send them on a nonstop cycle of high-speed chases and near death experiences. There's a certain amount of spy stuff. Lots of people shooting at them. Various bad guys with vague foreign accents. They should be after something? Let's make it a high tech briefcase thingie. We could be talking about Amazon's streaming series, Citadel, or Apple+ made for streaming film Ghosted. One approaches things humorously, the other try to play it straight. This week the Regular Joe's check out both and give you their thoughts. Hint: Any time you cast Ana de Armas you get bonus points. In other news, Barry and Dave let you in on their recent adventures while Tod pretty much just stayed home and worked. There's also a Random Topics and What's in the Box. Thanks for listening!

If you were wondering how you celebrate 10 years of podcasting, the answer is by doing pretty much what you've been doing for the previous decade. This week The Regular Joe's Podcast hits the 10 year mark, and we commemorate this milestone by getting the whole gang together and revisiting one of our earliest themes, "Tools of the Trade." As long time listeners will know, in the early days of the podcast the Joes covered a lot of lists. This time around they run down, or perhaps, update, all their favorite stuff from the genres, they love. Cars, planes, spacecraft, robots, the inevitable green girls and a few wild cards. Some choices will be surprising, some, not so much. Listeners are are invited to play along and even let them know what they might have missed. Thanks for listening, and listening, and listening …

In the summer of 2014 James Gunn transformed Guardians of the Galaxy from a largely unknown, but highly regarded, Marvel comic to a box office blockbuster. For nine years we have followed the exploits of Star-Lord, Gomora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot along with others they picked up along the way. As the much delayed, and purportedly final, entry in the Guardians saga hits theaters the Joes weigh in on the newest Marvel film, and the franchise as a whole. Are we really ready to say goodbye to these characters? SPOILER not really. Seriously people, if this one doesn't break your heart just a little bit, you might not have one. And, yes there's also the usual Random Topics. I am Groot!

This week the Regular Joe's are joined once again by Tom Spina of Regal Robot, and Tom Spina designs. After a curiously lengthy discussion about eating habits, Tom fills the Joes in on some of his newer projects. While most folks likely associate Regal Robot with meticulously crafted Star Wars prop replicas and very cool deco items, Tom and his dedicated group of artisans have recently moved into the world of Indiana Jones. As die hard Indy fans are all about the gear and the artifacts we can look forward to some exciting stuff. It's a rare opportunity to pull back the curtain on the development and creation process behind the amazing replicas that he produces. And of course, there's also Random topics. Thanks for Listening!

After ten weeks of Star Trek: Picard and eight of Star Wars: The Mandolorian you might think the Regular Joes would have run out of things to say. Actually, if you've been listening for any length of time, you wouldn't suspect that in the least. This week, the Joes close the book on these two series as Picard delivers its finale and the Mandalorian wraps its third season. Because the regular hosts possess little or no objectivity when it comes to these two franchises, they sought out a neutral, fourth party to counterbalance their views with a reasoned and unbiased perspective. Unfortunately, that person wasn't available so they called in Brian Mix. There's also the usual Random Topics and a Round of Joe's Choice, which is a lot like What's in the Box with stuff that has been around longer. Thanks for listening!