Syndicated with Lesley and Ben

Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with The Untamed, an ahistorical Chinese fantasy drama from Tencent Video. We’re joined by Nik Boylan of Legends of Laia and Athraplay, who has spent the last year becoming an Untamed expert. After our hosts flip out about the massive complex of historical sets and theme park attractions that the Untamed is filmed at, we learn about the Xianxia genre of Chinese fantasy and the bizarre path this show took to be adapted. Lesley, Ben and Nik faun over the commitment to the bit on display in The Untamed - with its costumes, wire work martial arts, high energy visual effects and campy dialogue. Truly, this is what tv was made for.We’re watching Season One, Episode One of the Untamed. We start with a climactic battle in the Nightless City where a series of sorcerer knights struggle to grasp a shadowy demonic magical object. The rogue Cultivator Wei Wuxian falls off a cliffside after a confrontation with Lan Wangji. 16 years later, Wei Wuxian is summoned back to the land of the living as part of a ritual preformed by Mo Xuanyu. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are reunited, but Wei Wuxian isn’t sure he wants Lan Wangji to see him yet.

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV.

Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Lesley and Ben are thrilled to be once again joined by Rachel Collins, host of the upcoming grocery and shopping podcast, 10 Items or Less! Instead of our usual format covering single episodes of television, we're chatting about vintage commercials and the stories they're telling! We cover 21 commercials ranging across the decades from the 1960s to 2004. Electronics Boutique, Hollywood Video, Schlitterbaun Water Park, CompUSA, B Dalton Booksellers and mail order educational software learning opportunities. All this and a lot more on this very special episode of Syndicated with Lesley and Ben!

On the Main Feed: We're posting a teaser of the first couple of commercials we covered for everyone subscribed to the show, wherever you get your podcasts!

On Patreon: Patreon subscribers, you're in for a treat. At the $5/mo level, you get access to the whooole enchilada. An hour and forty minutes of 21 commercials with commentary and live reactions. Musical numbers, jingles, childhood memories, a lot of talk about malls, bookstores, personal computing, Tom Clancy and regional amusement parks! https://www.patreon.com/posts/swlab-special-108949274?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

On YouTube: We have a complete playlist of all of the commercials covered by Lesley, Ben and Rachel for your viewing pleasure. Many of these commercials have real wacky visual components. We included the audio in the episode, but some of these need to be seen to be believed. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLCNXaDo9tBqSnM6Wq2bE3WTyiQODHbZy

Lesley and Ben’s season on International TV continues with 30 Coins, another Spanish language horror series. Now what are the odds! We talk about how international tv is working great for streaming companies, our personal affinity toward religious and folk horror (including plenty of examples), and the incredible set design of Pedraza, Spain, the location of 30 Coin’s story.We covered Season One, Episode Three, El Espejo. When a wedding guest violently crashes his car on the way to the reception, an investigation of his living quarters reveals that he has a cursed demon mirror in his apartment. It happens. Even though he doesn’t initially believe the mirror is anything but a normal mirror, Father Vergara stays up all night to investigate it. Town mayor Paco and Veterinarian Elena attempt to help him but Vergara rebuffs their curiosity and tries to handle it alone... until the mirror lashes out against him.

Unfortunately, shortly after we recorded this episode, HBO decided not to renew 30 Coins. Fingers crossed the story gets to continue some other way.

Is this thing still on? We’re coming in live from our affiliate stations across the world! We’re covering International TV this season with the help of newly installed satellite tv dish. Specifically, we’re focusing on non-English television regardless of narrative genre!

We’re starting with Los Espookys, the Spanish language, Latin-American set, HBO produced comedy series about a group of friends who build elaborate special effect horror as a small business. It’s Lesley’s opening staff pick for the season and Ben thinks it’s some of “the wittiest half hour tv he’s ever seen.“ We crack jokes about Portlandia and Letterkenney, praise Los Espookys’ subdued humorous moments and share our personal relationships with Non-English international media and comfort media. Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love. Our current season is International TV.

Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

We did our time, listener! 13 long episodes in crime tv. You can’t make us go back in there! It’s time to wrap up our crime season, and we could think of only one show to throw the book at us. Lesley and Ben cover The Wire, the lauded HBO prestige police procedural starring Lance Reddick, Idris Elba and Dominic West. We started with the season two finale, Any Port in a Storm and were stunned by the quality of the story so far. Was everyone else right? Was The Wire always this good?Plus we talk about crime procedurals role in history, different stories for different demographics and magnetic appeal of Idris Elba.

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love.

Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Lesley and Ben are trying something new. At Lesley’s suggestion, we’re watching Death and Other Details, the brand new murder mystery drama from Hulu, starring Violett Beane and Mandy Patinkin. Death and Other Details has a compelling plot, but is otherwise tripped up by some visual issues that got under Ben and Lesley’s skin. We’re excited to see how this mystery concludes, we just wish we could see more of the show! Plus, a lengthy discussion about crime as a genre, the lasting prevalence of the murder mystery serial, and the massive corporate media conspiracy to get us to stay at nice, all expenses paid resorts and hotels.

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love.

Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Lesley and Ben are now on an international crime spree. We’re tackling Lupin, the Netflix produced French thriller series about the adventures of Assane Diop, a man who has modeled himself after pulp character Arsene Lupin, the Gentleman Thief. We talk about Sherlock Holmes, pulp fiction of the early 1900s, foreign television, expanding our cultural horizons and how to execute a good plot twist. Also we talk a lot about France. Sacre bleu!

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love.

Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Syndicated is hitting the open road and solving murders across America with Poker Face, the Rian Johnson helmed and Natasha Lyonne starring mystery anthology show. We had to cover Poker Face after tackling Columbo and Murder She Wrote. Lesley and Ben fell in love with the 1970s retro Americana aesthetic, the cast of complicated characters and the BBQ being grilled in the third episode of the show. We talk alibis, Star Wars, Okja, cinematic murders. and the use of star power in television.

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love.

Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

Cabot Cove has no shortage of murders and there is no one more qualified to solve them than mystery writer Jessica Fletcher. Editor Jay Gagnon brings us Murder She Wrote, the number one source of Angela Lansbury material. Lesley, Ben and Jay stumble through a charming double murder in the high stakes cutthroat world of fiction publishing. Logically, we picked an episode that guest stars Better Call Saul’s Michael McKean.

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love.

Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.

For every crime, there’s a mystery. A series of clues that lead back to the grisly, heinous answer. But Lesley and Ben stumbled on a mystery neither Jessica Fletcher nor Columbo could possible solve: what did people like about Dexter in 2006? Lesley and Ben are unimpressed with the Showtime show’s writing and narrative pacing and aren’t holding back about why.

Syndicated with Lesley and Ben is a twice monthly podcast about television, genre and storytelling in which your hosts watch one episode of a new show and explore the history of television one episode at a time. From family room sitcoms to space exploration shows, reality TV to procedurals and game shows, we’re going to cover it all and give you the context you need to understand the wonderful world of television and the stories we love.

Our Logo is by Terra Bosart, the theme song is by Mandra Sigma and the show is edited by Jay Gagnon.