The Incomparable Mothership

Guillermo del Toro’s career started small, with the small-scale vampire (sort of) horror (sort of?) movie “Cronos,” in which an old man finds a mechanical object containing a magical bug that gives him eternal life in the bad way. Meanwhile, young Ron Perlman hates his evil uncle but continues to do his bidding! It’s a fun 1992 throwback that is still recognizeably del Toro.

"Cronos" (1992)

Host Jason Snell with Steve Lutz, Moisés Chiullán, and Tony Sindelar.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

From the skyscrapers of Coruscant to the pyramids of Yavin and with numerous stops in between, season two of “Andor” covers the rise of the rebellion and leads to the doorstep of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” What makes it special among Star Wars series? Did season two improve on the groundbreaking first season? It’s Star Wars, so we break it down in detail.

"Andor" season 2

Host Jason Snell with John Siracusa, Dan Moren, Tony Sindelar, and Steven Schapansky.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

We return once more to 1995, this time for a movie set at the turn of the century! It’s “Strange Days,” a cyberpunk movie with only a little bit of cyber but a lot of punk, along with grease and stink.

"Strange Days"

Host Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Tony Sindelar, and Monty Ashley.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

The highest-grossing film of all time is straight-up sci-fi and yet in 15 years at this place we’ve never talked about it. That ends now, as we put on our oxygen masks and venture out into the moon of Pandora to meet the local Na’vi and the interloper Sky People and discuss why James Cameron’s “Avatar” became an enormous hit and then disappeared entirely (other than the theme-park attactions) until re-emerging with a sequel that was also an enormous hit.

"Avatar"

Host Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Brian Warren, Brian Hamilton, and Chip Sudderth.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Our walk through the 10 different novels nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards in 2025 begins! In this episode we discuss “Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory” by Yaroslav Barsukov, “A Sorceress Comes to Call” by T. Kingfisher, and “Someone You Can Build a Nest In” by John Wiswell.

2025 Awards Book Club Part 1

Host Jason Snell with Erika Ensign, Aleen Simms, Scott McNulty, and Heather Berberet.

What are we reading?

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

The year is 1995. The films: “Hackers” and “The Net,” in which computers are proven to be dangerous for society. One is a ridiculous movie about teen hackers that knows it’s silly, and the other is a ludicrous thriller about adult hackers that doesn’t.

"Hackers" and "The Net"

Host Jason Snell with Monty Ashley, Shelly Brisbin, Erika Ensign, Joe Rosensteel, Moisés Chiullán, and Tony Sindelar.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Huff some ether, dress for an ORTBO, and always keep an eye out for a private place beneath a tarp—we’re here to discuss the second season of “Severance,” a story that goes beyond the first season with some twists and turns that might be Kafkaesque, but are definitely Kafka-ish.

"Severance" season 2

Host Jason Snell with Brian Hamilton, Brian Warren, Dan Moren, Glenn Fleishman, and Heather Berberet.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Spray on some insect repellant and don your hazmat suit, because Del Toro Club has re-formed to discuss a gigantic layer cake of infinite bugs, 1997’s “Mimic.” Parts of it are very Del Toro indeed, while other parts leave us scratching our heads about why something that had a whole lot of potential ended up playing as a pretty good B (not bee!) Movie instead. Are the Weinsteins to blame? (Yes.)

"Mimic"

Host Jason Snell with Moisés Chiullán, Steve Lutz, and Tony Sindelar.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

In a world full of creative projects turned into intellectual property, our panelists join together to choose remakes and reboots that please us, those that displease us, and those items that are out there, waiting to be remade.

Remake/Reboot Draft

Host Jason Snell with Brian Hamilton, David J. Loehr, Erika Ensign, Lisa Schmeiser, Moisés Chiullán, Monty Ashley, Philip Michaels, Shannon Sudderth, and Chip Sudderth.

Remake/Reboot I love

Remake/Reboot I hate

Deserving a remake

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Our Ghibli Club gets together to discuss 2016’s “The Red Turtle,” an unusual Ghibli coproduction, as well as this year’s Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature, “Flow.”

"Flow" and "The Red Turtle"

Host Jason Snell with Steve Lutz, John Siracusa, and Aleen Simms.

Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.