Ed and Emily catch-up on some of the news stories that broke over the last two weeks, including the Emmys, the controversy surrounding The Predator, and the strange saga of Fan Bingbing. Then they talk about indispensable performances; those times when an actor's work takes a movie from good to great, or where their ineffable qualities take something otherwise unremarkable and make it special. They also offer definitive proof that Columbo is antifa.

00:00:00 - 00:32:11 - Intro & News

00:32:12 - 01:20:48 - Ed & Emily talk about indispensable performances

01:20:49 - 01:30:42 - SRS Recommends & Outro

- Here is the obituary of Denis Norden that Emily Recommends

- If you would like to donate to those affected by Hurricane Florence, The Weather Channel has a list of organizations who are providing aid and assistance to the victims

It's another pre-recorded episode while Ed is on holiday, so there's no news this week but there is a lot of discussion about Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, The Lonely Island's mockumentary which was criminally ignored on its release in 2016 despite it being one of the best American comedies of the last 20 years. Ed and Emily talk about the many great jokes, how well the film mimics the films that inspired it, and how its story plays out as a nightmare version of The Lonely Island's own story. Get Donkey rolling everyone because the cult starts here!

Ed's going on holiday for a couple of weeks, so he and Emily pre-recorded some non-topical episodes in which they talk about movies they love. First up, they discuss the bleakly funny and endlessly quotable high school satire Heathers, featuring early career-shaping performances from Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. They discuss the film's prescient examination of alienation, toxic masculinity and performative living, the long afterlife and legacy of the show as a home video staple, and why it's been so difficult to replicate its brilliance in other media.

As film festival season heats up and studios start gunning for that number one spot at the Oscars, it can be a little bewildering trying to figure out what movies to look out for. You're in luck, though, because Ed and Emily are here to tell you which films coming out between now and the end of the year you should get excited about. This preview has everything: Predators, plaintive Japanese dramas, yelling about Nicole Kidman.

00:00:00 - 00:24:20 - Intro & News

00:24:21 - 01:21:17 - Ed & Emily preview the next four months of movies

01:21:18 - 01:26:03 - SRS Recommends & Outro

Here is the Maureen Ryan column about Louis C.K.'s attempt to return to the spotlight that Ed references during the news

This week, Ed and Emily discuss the ways in which seeing a movie with an audience can affect their experience of the film itself, in ways both good and bad, as well as the ways in which certain fanbases (i.e. Star Wars and Rick and Morty fans) negatively impact the reputations of the shows and movies they like, and how that complicates the experience of watching those works. They also discuss Danny Boyle's departure from Bond 25, and pleasant TV shows they've seen recently.

00:00:00 - 00:15:56 - Intro & News

00:15:57 - 00:52:33 - Ed & Emily discuss how audiences affect art

00:52:34 - 00:57:16 - SRS Recommends & Outro

On this week's episode, Ed and Emily talk about Play for Today, the BBC's long-running anthology series which provided a platform for some of the best British actors, writers and directors of the '70s and '80s to create exciting, innovative works. They discuss some of the most (in)famous instalments (including Ken Loach's The Price of Coal, Mike Leigh's Nuts in May and Abigail's Party, Alan Clarke's Scum, and Dennis Potter's Brimstone and Treacle) and whether the series left a lasting legacy beyond the careers of the people (but mostly men) who worked on it.

00:00:00 - 00:16:29 - Intro & News

00:16:30 - 00:54:21 - Ed & Emily talk about Play for Today

00:54:22 - 00:59:15 - SRS Recommends & Outro

Here is the Play for Today archive at British Television Drama that Emily references

Here is the Washington Post profile of Jimmy Carter that Ed recommends

Inspired by the news that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is recasting a major character for thematic and artistic reasons - rather than because the original actor was a nightmare, as is so often the case - Ed and guest host Emily Benita discuss other examples of TV shows taking big risks, and whether the current glut of content has encouraged or lessened experimentation. They also try to make sense of the logic behind the forthcoming changes to the Oscars, and whether the idea of an Oscar for popular movies is self-defeating.

00:00:00 - 00:17:46 - Intro & News

00:17:47 - 01:04:13 - Ed & Emily talk about TV shows taking risks

01:04:14 - 01:10:46 - SRS Recommends & Outro

Ed and guest-host Emily Benita talk about rewatching movies (and TV shows) in this week's episode. Which movies do they return to for comfort and/or catharsis? How have their rewatching habits changed over the years? What do they get out of watching a movie multiple times? They discuss all of these questions, as well as the death of Barry Chuckle, the return of Jean-Luc Picard, and YouTube mistakes.

00:00:00 - 00:16:03 - Intro & News

00:16:04 - 00:46:23 - Ed & Emily talk about rewatching movies and TV shows

00:46:24 - 00:56:18 - SRS Recommends & Outro

Ed is joined by returning guest Emily Benita to talk about horror movies in the 21st century, with a specific focus on movies released during the last four or five years, and whether the genre is currently going through a golden age. They also talk about the latest developments in the Chris Hardwick scandal, the potential damage that could be caused by the Disney/Fox merger, and the Buffy reboot.

00:00:00 - 00:27:17 - Intro & News

00:27:18 - 00:59:22 - Ed & Emily talk about 21st century horror movies

00:59:23 - 01:05:28 - SRS Recommends & Outro

It's been ten years since the release of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, a film which achieved tremendous commercial and critical success, and for many seemed to legitimise the superhero story as a cinematic genre. It also inspired a lot of people to act terribly on the Internet. Matt and Ed look back at the movie and try to decide how well it holds up, and to make sense of its complicated legacy. They also discuss some of the news coming out of Comic-Con, and try to untangle the messy situation surrounding James Gunn's firing by Disney.

00:00:00 - 00:24:25 - Intro & News

00:24:26 - 00:56:59 - Matt & Ed discuss The Dark Knight

00:57:00 - 01:02:32 - SRS Recommends & Outro