The Protagonist Podcast

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Returning guest Kestra Darowski joins Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss Knives Out, the 2019 murder mystery film from writer and director Rian Johnson. Starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc and Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera, the film blends the classic “Whodunnit” style of mystery— where the audience is trying to solve the crime along with a detective—with the “Howcatchem” style of mystery—where the audience is shown the the murder takes place and the drama is how the criminal is caught.

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Show Notes

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Producer Andrew joins Joe to discuss the Sledgehammer 44 comic book mini-series that are set in the Hellboy universe. These were written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, with art by Jason Later and Lawrence Campbell.

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Returning guest Ben Phillips joins Joe to discuss Troy and Abed from the sitcom Community. We discuss the iconic friendship as we dissect the episodes “Epidemiology” and “Geothermal Escapism.”

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Show Notes

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In what may be an overly optimistic decision, Producer Andrew and Joe have decided to bring back the Fantasy Box Office game for 2022. They each pick films, and the films final box office is multiplied by its Rotten Tomatoes score. The one who ends up with the biggest tally at the end of the year wins. Listen as they make their selections and preview some of the most anticipated films of 2022 (with lots of acknowledgments that some of their choices may not arrive in theaters this calendar year).

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Protagonist Podcast co-founder Todd Mack is back with Joe to discuss Wax and Wayne from The Alloy of Law. This Brandon Sanderson novel is set on the same planet as his Mistborn Trilogy, but several hundred years in the future from that series of novels. So the same set of magic rules are in play, but in more of an American West setting. We discuss how Waxillium fits into a classic archetype of American storytelling, and then discuss the other characters as well.

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Returning guest Charly Kuecks joins Joe to discuss the classic holiday film, The Muppet Christmas Carol. Written by Jerry Juhl and directed by Brian Henson, this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol sees the muppets inserted into key roles in the story, while Michael Caine plays the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge.

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Show Notes

Protagonist Podcast co-founder Todd Mack is back for our seventh annual Christmas Special. Producer Andrew has supplied Todd and Joe with the names of several Christmas films that they have never watched. They have prepared a plot summary inspired by each title, and then Andrew reveals which one he’d rather watch. Whoever gets picked the most wins the game.

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Returning guest John Darowski joins Joe and Producer Andrew to discuss the animated film Klaus. This film, available on Netflix, tells an origin story for Santa Claus as seen through the experiences of a cynical mailman named Jesper. Featuring the voice cast of Jason Schwartzman as Jesper, J.K. Simmons as Klaus, and Rashida Jones as Alva, Klaus is a charming addition to animated holiday films.

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Returning guest Ben Phillips joins Joe to discuss Ted Lasso. The hit series stars Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso, an American football (not soccer) coach who is hired to manage a English football (yes soccer) team in the Premiere League. We spend some time talking about how great this show is, but also dig into the characters and motivations, and the masterful comedy writing.

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Returning guests Kjerste Christensen and Chris “Mav” Maverick join Joe to talk about the stories that they’re grateful for this year.

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