Happy Halloween! Today we're looking at the spooky myths and legends of the United States of America. What makes a ghost story or a fairy tale feel 'Murican? How do the colonies draw on their European folklore? Who would've gotten away with it if not for those meddling kids? Find out on Talking Tropes.

Spoilers for

Over the Garden Wall

Gravity Falls

American Gods

Various Fairy Tales

Scooby Doo

Episode two was... underwhelming in more ways than one, and we're gonna talk about why. Hot takes include: Chris Chibnall is a hack who can't write himself out of a paper bag and is probably scared to get dressed in the morning cause CLOTH IS SCARY!!!!

Spoilers for Doctor Who season 11

Edited by Logan McBride ([email protected])

New Doctor, New Showrunner, New rules. How does the season premiere stack up against a 50 year history? Does the concept of a woman doctor collapse the space-time continuum? Is Chris Chibnall a better writer than "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" would suggest?

Spoilers for Doctor Who season 11.

Lovingly edited by Logan

So we've discussed the ongoing debate between Moffat and Russel T. but what do these showrunners have to say about gender? Let's take a closer look at the women of New Who, to learn who is the most #problematic.

Spoilers for Doctor Who series 1-10.

It's farting aliens vs. impossible girls. It's bad wolf vs. silence will fall. It's Rose vs. Clara and Tennant vs. Smith. This podcast will weigh the good tropes with the bad on the most divisive sci-fi show in the history of time and space. Who was the better Doctor Who showrunner? We look at the good tropes and the bad of New Who do determine Who wore it best.

Hey everybody, we're going on hiatus for a bit. When we get back, hopefully we can start updating weekly instead of every other week.

In the meantime, let's discuss Mary-Sues, Smadness, Sexy Badasses, Action Girls, Trinity Syndrome, and Empowerment. What makes a female character strong? And why is it so important to include it in your marketing?

Spoilers for:

Catwoman

Tomb Raider

Black Panther

Harry Potter

The Lego Movie

Wonder Woman

The Dark Knight Trilogy

The Matrix

Jessica Jones

Red Sparrow

Star Wars VII

Colossal

Today we tackle the ultimate anime question: Is Fullmetal Alchemist shonen? We examine the tropes of the genre and how it applies to both the original series and the manga-following 2009 reboot.

Spoilers For:

Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009)

If you disagree with our conclusions, or have your own thoughts to add, you can let us know on twitter @talkingtropes and if you want us to make better content and access exclusive perks, please donate to our patreon at patreon.com/talkingtropes

Special thanks to DAVID this week for being our editor for this very special episode...keep your eyes on YouTube for some bonus fun!

Where does Thanos rank among the MCU baddies and antagonists? Today we discuss the bad, the bad, and the ugly of Marvel Villainy.

Spoilers

ALL MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE FILMS AND TV SHOWS

If you disagree with our picks for best and worst villain, you can let us know on twitter @talkingtropes and if you want us to make better content and access exclusive perks, please donate to our patreon @ patreon.com/talkingtropes

Special thanks to Logan, our editor. If not for him, you'd have to listen to a lot more coughing and long digressions about Josh Brolin's Filmography.

Narrators: the disembodied ghosts of movies. Today we take a look at some of our favorite narrators that put a fun spin on telling stories that we're already watching. Snicket, Ron Howard, Douglas Adams and more! It's wacky wordsmiths all the way down.

Little did they know, the podcast would include spoilers for Stranger than Fiction and A Series of Unfortunate Events.

If you like us and have some ideas of what tropes to talk about next, you can let us know on twitter @talkingtropes and if you want us to make better content and access exclusive perks, please donate to our patreon @ patreon.com/talkingtropes

Special thanks to Logan, our editor. Keepin' it real like a happy meal.

Kids are pretty stupid, but in our media we love the idea of children that are smarter than the adults, able to build fantastic inventions, and possessing the skills to solve mysteries the cops can't.

If you can think of any Boy Geniuses or Kid Detectives we missed, let us know in the comments or on twitter @talkingtropes.

If you want to see more content like this, donate to our patreon @ patreon.com/talkingtropes

Spoilers for:

Jimmy Neutron

Dexter's Lab

Shaolin Showdown

The Adventure Zone

Case Closed/ Detective Conan

Phineas and Ferb

Star Wars

Artemis Fowl

Ender's Game

Fullmetal Alchemist

A Wrinkle in Time

Yu-gi-oh

Gifted

Mahou Sensei Negima!

Family Guy

Death Note

Alex Rider

Kids Next Door

Big Hero Six

Malcolm in the Middle

Young Sheldon

Boondocks

The Amazing World of Gumball

Matilda

Young Wizards

Avatar

Iron Man (Comics)

Recess

The Simpsons

Baccano!