Spoil Me

Y'all, I went ahead and watched the whole damn first episode of the US version and was late to the scheduled recording because I friggin had to watch the UK version after all. And I'm just ashamed.
This show was really good though! What a strange premise, and what a weird world it opens up when it's set in the past but not like the PAST PAST, it's all in his head, BUT IS IT? I'm really interested in seeing what kinds of boundaries continue to get established regarding how this works.
Thanks so much to anonymous for commissioning this episode!

Thank you to Rachel for commissioning this episode!
Hoo boy, folks, this season has been fucking BANANAS so far and it's showing no signs whatsoever of calming down. The episode ends with Veronica realizing that a busful of people might have died simply because someone hates her so much, and that's some heavy shit to carry.
I'm really fascinated by what's going on with Logan because even though he's been caught, the huge real estate scandal that Veronica uncovered will probably eclipse it, at least for a while, and I'm not sure what happens then. Also, Logan, seriously what are you doing though.
And I'm not here for Jackie.
Thanks so much for listening, and I will see you soon with a new episode!

Thank you so much to Patrick for commissioning this episode and commissioning this show in general. I'm enjoying the hell out of it.
This episode, please forgive me for going on and on about how goddamn attractive Timothy Olyphant is when he's bloody and bruised, but I CAN'T HELP IT, OKAY? Good lord, but that man is fine.
I'm as surprised as anyone that he and Charlie Utter don't return with Jack McCall's body, but I think he was smart in how he played this one and that he will be glad he handled it how he did for the rest of his life.
Also, this damn widow isn't being careful and I'm getting real fuckin irritated with her. I don't quite understand the extent to which Trixie freaks out on Alma, but I try and work it out live on the show and I think I got pretty close.
Thanks so much for listening, everyone! See you soon with a new episode!

Shout-out to Anonymous for this commission! This was fun!
This commission was a special one for both me and RoShawn, and I'm really taken aback by how different Red Dwarf is from what I was expecting. I'm not totally even sure what I was expecting specifically, but I think maybe a drama that took itself a little too seriously considering the bad special effects and makeup? Something like Stargate or the other one whose name I can never remember.
But no! This was a goofy comedy with a really weird premise and some baffling "sci-fi" elements that are closer to magic than anything else. I really enjoyed how much this show leaned into the weirdness and played with all the potential of advanced technology while also lampshading the fact that they weren't going to invest in showing that tech in action. I mean, solving the problem of a man who is a hologram by simply taping an H to his head is genius and that's all there is to it.
Thanks again for the commission, and I hope you all enjoy it!

I really want to thank Ashleigh for commissioning this delightful show. It's so rare for people to commission things that are comedy-heavy, and while I have my own hangups about how to cover something like that effectively, I really love having something mixed into the heaviness of much of my other titles to leaven things a bit.
This show is just hilarious, and it's short and sweet as well so you can watch an episode without making much of a commitment, which is sometimes exactly what I want. In this show's case, though, it's so funny that I wish the episodes were longer because good lord. I need MORE of all these characters!
Thank you again to Ashleigh, and thanks to all of you for listening! I will be seeing you all soon with a new episode!

Thank you so much to Ashleigh for commissioning this episode! Even if it is the episode where Sonea and Akkarin come clean to each other about how they feel.
Lots of other things happen too, because there's a hearing for the rebels that Dannyl trapped and the first stings of someone trying to out him to the Guild. It's a surprising scene to me because I didn't think that the dude would be executed and I didn't think that Dannyl would feel so guilty about it, but I kind of like him better for it.
But mostly I'm distracted by Sonea and Akkarin being together. I'm glad their uncertainty isn't drawn out any longer, but I'm still going on record as not approving of the relationship between a teacher and a student with a 12 year age difference.
Thank you all again so much for listening, and I will see you soon with a new episode!

Many thanks again to Patrick for commissioning this episode!
This is another episode that didn't go the way that I expected. I keep thinking that this show is going to be about showing us the grim realities of living in this era, and while that is certainly a large part of this show, that's not the point. What we keep coming back to is how the community organizes itself to take care of these issues.
I have to say, as much of a bastard as Al is, his deep practicality is something that I really respect. He knows that it's bad for business to have a sickness in town, he knows that there's a good piece of PR in heading up the effort to get the vaccine, and he is quick at gathering the right people around him to make things happen.
There's also the ongoing saga with the poor widow, whom I love, and I am worried for her. She's being watched over by a very daring Trixie at this point, and I'm frankly worried for Trixie, too. Pretty much every woman on this show has a portion of my worry set aside for them.
Thank you all so much for listening, and I will see you again soon with a new episode!

Hey there everyone! It's time for the next installment of The Grace Of Kings, and I'm feeling a little bit better about things than I was last episode. I might forgive you after all, Kyle. Maybe. But you're on notice.
These chapters are very unusual in the way that they roll. Or perhaps I should say that Ken Liu is surprising. This author really tries to let his characters be whole people, and he doesn't judge in the ways that I would expect. There's a lot of maturity in the depiction of the relationship between Jia and Kuni, and it depicts the kind of respect that I wish more of us could manage.
They come to an agreement that Jia is going to have her boytoy because she needs something while Kuni is away, and Kuni is going to get remarried because he needs to really make it clear to Mata that he's moving on and building a new life. It's very bittersweet.
Thank you all so much for listening, and I will see you soon with a new episode!

Many thanks to Patricia for commissioning this episode, which marks the third Diana Wynne Jones book she's commissioned, and I'm HERE for it!
This book started off really strong for me, and only continued to get stronger. Something I'm noticing about Wynne Jones is how good she is at allowing mysteries room to breathe, and while sometimes I don't really understand the reveal (and I'm talking about you, Fre & Hemlock ending) I never feel like the author doesn't understand it. I am very interested in finding out what the hell is going on here.
First, we're set up in this delightful little world where magic is practiced openly and acknowledged as something with a variety of proficiencies so that you can literally get different licences, and I'm all about that. And then we've got this girl who's kind of a terror in the making, and while she's in many ways much more interesting than her baby brother, watching her through his eyes is so fascinating!
Anyway I'm really digging this book already, and I hope you will all read along with me. See you next week with a new episode!

Thank you to Patrick for commissioning this series, which has turned into one of my favorite shows ever (at least so far, who knows what can happen down the line).
This episode dealt almost entirely with the fallout from Wild Bill's death, and that includes everyone, from the people who knew him best who now are getting drunk or looking for information, to the randoms on the street and their takeaway on all these events.
Also yikes the honest depiction of racism is really disturbing and fucking got to me a little bit. I'm very interested to see where this show goes with this because it seems like they're laying a lot of groundwork.
Thanks so much for listening, everyone, and I will see you soon with a new episode!