Socially Distanced

The Boba Book Club is coming to an end! Hosts Al Mannarino and Bill Bodkin say farewell to The Book of Boba Fett with an all-star Star Wars panel. Rejoining the guys is resident guest for the series Amanda Rivas, GM of Mission Pro Wrestling -- who's been an awesome addition to the show (and will return for our Obi Wan review series).  Returning as special guests this week are the former resident guest during our Mandalorian review series Ken Grand-Pierre (host of The New Exchange with Ken Grand-Pierre) and podcast producer/engineer Lucas P. Jones -- who just donated his hair to the amazing charity Hair We Share. In this episode they discuss the fate of Fett (the series), the future of Star Wars on Disney+, the character arc of Boba (and why it didn't work), the Rancor, the return of our sweet baby boy (Grogu), Amy Sedaris and so much more.

It's the penultimate episode of The Book of Boba Fett and boy oh boy was there a lot to talk about. Hosts Al Mannarino and Bill Bodkin are joined by resident guest Amanda Rivas and specials guests Alex Marcus (TV Break, Cinema Joes, Bill vs. The MCU) and Josh Sarnecky (Anniversary Brothers, TV Break) to talk about The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 6, "From the Desert Comes a Stranger." They talk about the return of their sweet baby boy Grogu, the debut of Cade Bane, the return of The Mandalorian, Cobb Vanth, Ahsoka Tano, R2D2 and Luke Skywalker to the series as well as all the happenings of the episode and possible happenings for the finale.

It's a wild one on Socially Distanced this week! The latest installment of The Boba Book Club (aka The Book of Boba Fett Review Series) looks at Chapter 5 "The Return of the Mandalorian." Hosts Bill Bodkin and Al Mannarino are joined by their resident guest for the series, Amanda Rivas, as well as Marshall & Courtney Stephenson -- the hosts of Pop Break's Blerd Watchers podcast. They debate how this episode -- which was amazing -- fits into a Boba Fett series despite the main character never appears in the episode! The panel deep dives into the vast amount of references from the Star Wars universe, Mando's future for his and this series, how Boba has been portrayed so far and more take place.

The Book of Boba Fett review series continues on Socially Distanced with an in-depth discussion of Episode 4, 'The Gathering Storm.' Hosts Al Mannarino and Bill Bodkin (who gives one of the worst theories about Star Wars ever in this episode) are joined by resident guest Amanda Rivas (GM of Mission Pro Wrestling) and making his debut on the show all the way from Canada, Kyle Masters (host of Elite POV). The four go in-depth about the episode, in particular how the bacta tank flashbacks worked and how the underworld element is finally moving forward. They talk about the great jump scare, hidden cameos, the excellence of Fennec Shand, Crimson Dawn, Jennifer Beals and so much more.

The Boba Book Club is what we're calling our Book of Boba Fett review series! (Yes, it only gets more corny from here on out.) 'The Streets of Mos Espa' aka The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 3 is what's on tap for the Socially Distanced podcast this week. The unofficial hosts of the podcast -- Pop Break music editor Kat Manos and longtime SD contributor Cole Rothacker (along with Kat's massive jug of water) join resident guest Amanda Rivas (GM of Mission Pro Wrestling), and hosts Al Mannarino and Bill Bodkin to talk about the episode that finally propelled the current day Boba story properly. They engage in such "clever" named segments as: A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far Far Away, Let's Go Hang at the Bacta Tank, Throw it in The Sarlacc Put, I am the Daiymo, The Word on the Street of Mos Espa Is and finally ranking the episode on a scale of 1-10 parsecs.

Happy New Year! Welcome to SEASON 3 premiere of The Socially Distanced Podcast. The new season begins with the launch of a brand new review series for the latest Disney+ entry into the Star Wars Universe -- The Book of Boba Fett. Hosts Al Mannarino and Bill Bodkin head back into a galaxy far far away with special guest Ben Murchison and review resident guest Amanda Rivas! The four galactic warriors discuss their expectations for the series, their issues with the premiere episode, the lore and Easter eggs packed into Episode 2, what they want from the series and more.

The Socially Distanced Podcast closes out 2021 with its shortest episode ever! Hosts Al Mannarino and Bill Bodkin discuss their extremely busy 48 episode year. Al and Bill talk about their favorite episodes of the year including their interviews with comedian Eddie Pence and comic book creator Pornsack Pichetshote, as well as their specialty episodes and their many review mini-series. The episode closes out with them awkwardly planning out 2022 including their new Book of Boba Fett review series.

The Pizza Dog Chronicles comes a conclusion as the Socially Distanced crew talks about the Hawkeye finale. Hosts Al Mannarino and Bill Bodkin are joined by returning guest Tyler McCarthy and Pop Break senior writer/editor/photographer Murjani Rawls to discuss everything about "So This is Christmas." In the episode they break down the best performances, the complexities of Hailee Steinfeld and Florence Pugh's performances, the awesomeness of Tony Dalton's Swordsman, how the series wasn't really about Hawkeye's journey, the pros and cons of Vincent D'Onfrio's Kingpin, the significance of the watch and so much more.

It's the penultimate episode of Hawkeye so that can only mean one -- Pop Break's Podcast Guru Alex Marcus is on the show. Alex along with host Bill Bodkin discuss Hawkeye Episode 5, 'Ronin' and why this episode is both their favorite of the series so far. In the episode they discuss the validity of the "murder mystery" plot, the BIG REVEAL, Yelena and Kate's hangout, the Blip, Bill's lack of latter day MCU films, the beauty that is the Track Suit Mafia, Echo's development and more.

The final review series of 2021 finally has a name! The Pizza Dog Chronicles is the official name of our Hawkeye review series and we're having a blast talking about Episode 4,  'Partners, Am I Right?' Hosts Al Mannarino and Bill Bodkin are joined by resident guest for the series Murjani Rawls (Pop Break Editor & Photographer, TV & Film Writer for Substream) and a brand newcomer to the pod -- Tyler McCarthy (Den of Geek, FOX, Giant Freakin Robot).

The episode finally has segments -- It's Beginning to Look Like We're Going to Read a Wikipedia Plot Summary (as sung by Bill Bodkin), The Bullseye (the best part of the episode), The Fruitcake (the worst part of the episode), A Christmas Story (our theories for the series), The Pizza Dog Award (the best performance) and a rating of the episode on a scale of 1-10 pizza slices. 

In the episode they discuss the debut of Yelena (Florence Pugh), the role Echo will occupy in the MCU, who Mama Bishop was talking to on the phone, the potential Kingpin/Daredevil involvement, how will the release of Spider-man: No Way Home will play into everything, whether this is Jeremy Renner's best performance as Haweye, Hailee Steinfeld's complex performance and the lackluster mystery of the series.

The guys also give a pop culture recommendation for the holidays as well.