Taking It Down

The podcast comes out of its yearly August break with TV you should miss and TV you can't miss! Adam's short movie marathon during the break included the perplexing 'Kneecap' and the ADHD-fueled 'Deadpool and Wolverine,' but it all leaves Blaine bewildered and Adam twitchy (5:56).

No spoilers! The hosts dive into 'Lady in the Lake' from Apple TV+, 'Ripley' on Netflix, and 'The Challenge: Battle of the Eras' on MTV—find out which shows made the cut and why (16:04).

Spoilers ahead! The hosts unleash on 'Lady in the Lake,' calling it not just bad, but a total disaster—Blaine even watched it twice to make sure (19:56). From there, the hosts discover the haunting beauty of Netflix's 'Ripley' and what sets it apart from other versions, including a transportation into its eerie world (28:46). Finally, it's Adam’s passionate take on 'The Challenge: Battle of the Eras,' which will convince you it’s the show to watch all season long as well as some insights you may have missed (44:37).

Taking It Down is part of The Alabama Take's podcast network.

Mentioned in the episode is the music of SemiAthletic, which can be found here: https://www.semiathletic.com/

The Seddy Bimco, Part Two, The Revenge podcast can be found here: https://www.seddy-bimco-part-2-the-revenge.com/

This this short episode from Taking It Down, Adam discusses what books are perfect if a musician is on tour (2:42) and the whole crew discusses the hits and misses of the third season of 'The Bear' (4:53).

In the last bit, Blaine welcomes back his special guest for a quick review of 'IF,' a movie now streaming on Paramount+ (11:08).

Taking It Down will take a two-week break and will return on August 20th. Subscribe or follow so that you don't miss any episodes of the podcast. Find a lot more, including a whole podcast network, on The Alabama Take.

This week begins with no spoilers but some thoughts on how 'Presumed Innocent' came to its ending (1:27).

Once Adam and Donovan join the conversation, talk turns to that big Olympics opening and question why Blaine hates the competitions (4:29) before catching their breaths over the huge Comic Con news from Marvel (13:09). Or was it as big as the MCU thinks? Is Marvel playing scared?

The guys discuss all the trailers from the previous weeks, including thoughts and ideas on 'A Complete Unknown,' 'The Penguin,' 'Joker: Folie à Deux,' and 'Gladiator 2' (23:12).

Does 'House of the Dragon' continue to fly? Is the magic truly back? If not, what's grounding it (33:10)?

Lastly, they introduce the new Netflix series 'The Decameron' from the ancient text of the same name, yet this is a comedy about the Black Death. Does it work, and who's it for (37:35)? Spoilers for the show's first episode begins later (46:54).

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This week, Blaine begins with why you should be watching 'Presumed Innocent' as it winds down for the finale this week (1:52) before he gets into spoilers for the show penultimate episode (3:04).

From there, it's episodes five and six of this season of 'House of the Dragon' with spoilers (7:27) before he brings in a special co-host for a brief trip into Disney+ (19:08).

To end, it's a wrap on the season of 'The Bear': episodes nine and ten plus overall thoughts (21:21).

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It all boils down to family and dysfunction this week on Taking It Down. Blaine begins with his weekly thoughts on 'Presumed Innocent' which will have spoilers (1:18).

Adam and Donovan join to talk about the dragon warfare and political drama of the fourth episode of 'House of the Dragon,' titled "The Red Dragon and the Gold" (5:15).

In the second segment, they discuss episodes five through eight of the new, third season of 'The Bear' which is streaming on Hulu (32:25).

This week, Blaine recommends 'Presumed Innocent' on Apple TV+ with no spoilers (1:57) before getting into the specifics of what makes it worth watching (4:37).

Once Adam and Donovan join, they reveal some random TV they normally don't discuss on the podcast (11:43) before the entire crew dig into the third episode of 'House of the Dragon,' titled "The Burning Mill" (14:58).

After a break, Donovan and Blaine unpack the first four episodes of 'The Bear,' including all the fear on the screen that simmers (37:19).

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It's a stellar episode this week as Blaine welcomes any new listeners, of which there are several these days (0:01). Plus, there's the newsletter, and Blaine explains why it exists (0:51) as well as what's new in the store (1:54).

Apple TV+ cancels 'The Big Door Prize' and he explains why that's both sad and worrisome (2:13). Blaine previews next week (3:28) before getting into the week of TV with co-hosts Adam and Donovan, and that includes a bad Biden performance (4:21).

Adam and Blaine discuss 'Bodkin' from Netflix in general (5:28) before spoiling their final thoughts on the series as a whole (8:31). Then everyone chimes in on 'House of the Dragon' and its second episode in broad terms (17:49) before diving into the spoilers of that episode (20:39).

Blaine and Donovan reflect on what may be to come from this season of 'The Bear' without any spoilers (37:27). Then they give overall opinions on 'Dark Matter' from Apple TV+ (40:32) before discussing specifics of the great finale (44:27).

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It's a bonus episode this week! For episode 201, Blaine Duncan begins with a few odd stats with the podcast (1:43) before giving very brief and non-spoiler thoughts the Netflix show 'Eric' (2:19) and the Apple TV+ series 'Presumed Innocent,' which could be the show of the summer (3:17). And since he's had time to wrap up '3 Body Problem' on Netflix, he offers his final thoughts without spoilers on how the show worked for him overall (6:36).

The conversation then transitions to a discussion about the Netflix movie 'Hit Man' (11:43) where the crew discuss if it is worth your time without spoilers (11:43). The hosts provide their opinions on another Netflix series, 'Bodkin,' which followers a podcaster and a mystery as well as themes of identity, true crime, and small-town dynamics (15:29). The timestamp for spoiling only the first four episodes begin a little later (15:29).

From there, it's brief ideas on 'Presumed Innocent' and why its so fun as Blaine tries to convince the guys to watch it with his own preview (31:02). Then it's 'Dark Matter' with no reveals (32:35) until they transition to all spoilers with the Apple TV+ show: it is a high-quality, thrilling sci-fi show that successfully balances big questions with exciting storytelling (34:00).

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It is Episode 200!

Blaine offers some background of The Alabama Take and the podcast (2:56) and a preview (5:56). When Donovan and Adam join, the hosts reflect on their journey with Taking It Down (7:18).

Then it's one of their favorite segments in quite some time: listener questions (9:31)! With listeners' help, they discuss other media (10:12), TV shows they enjoy despite being unpopular (16:18), their favorite moments from the podcast (22:45), the best part about having a podcast (27:40), Ethel Cain and her music (28:34), their favorite series since beginning (29:20), the recent final of 'The Challenge: All Stars' (32:16), if they've changed opinions now (32:56), the best episode they've ever produced (37:16), what they got right through the years (38:46), the definition of done up real good (41:38), and bread (42:50).

Then they briefly review the Star Wars series 'The Acolyte' on Disney+ with no spoilers (43:56) before diving into spoilers for the first episode of 'House of the Dragon' (47:29).

This week, Taking it Down begins with some thoughts on the next episode, which will be the 200th of the podcast (1:26)! How can you get in on the action?

After that, Blaine gives final thoughts on 'Sugar' from Apple TV+ with no spoilers now that it has ended its run (2:08) as well as a check-in with no spoilers on 'Under the Bridge,' which is nearing its final installment (3:51). After everyone joins the show, the question is, how do we feel now that Bob Dylan is 83 (6:02)? It's TV talk from there. The crew begin talking about 'Dark Matter' and its first two episodes without spoilers before breaking down some specifics of what makes it a good show (9:36). After the break, it's the documentary now on Netflix titled 'Butterfly in the Sky: The Story of Reading Rainbow,' which has the crew reminiscing on both 'Reading Rainbow' and poignant stories on reading itself (23:05). You won't want to miss the ending.