This week, Joe and Todd are going old school, as they discuss The Importance of Being Earnest. They talk about silly seriousness, the importance of the era to understanding some of the critiques, and Wilde’s tightly controlled farce.

Joe and Todd are talking about the movie The Mistletoe Promise. They’ve had enough fun with the formula that it was time to talk about an actual Hallmark Christmas movie. They talk about what characters they like, what doesn’t fully connect in the plot, and why these movies are so popular.

Todd and Joe are discussing a classic novel, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. They discuss parenting, realistic character, and audience expectations.

Joe and Todd are tackling a Christmas classic as they discuss a Miracle on 34th Street. They discuss the weird history behind it’s release date, talk about faith and belief, and dig into Todd’s unexpected (for Joe) response to the film.

It’s The Protagonist Podcast Christmas Special 2017! Producer Andrew sent Joe and Todd the titles to 8 holiday specials they’ve never seen, and they each made up a plot summary (though Joe went overboard and shot well past a simple summary on one). Listen and let us know if you’d watch any of these made up movies.

Todd and Joe talk about Dave from “The Dave and Morley Stories” on the Canadian radio show Vinyl Cafe. They talk about the holidays, the creation of traditions, and tweaking what could be cliched character roles in just the right way.

Joe and Todd are joined by guest Kate Darowski to discuss Gilmore Girls. We talk about the charms of the show, the intergenerational family dynamics, and debate the merits of various boyfriends.

Todd and Joe are joined by special guest Amy Champion to discuss Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Topics of discussion include character growth, the logic of the Time Turner and the Marauder’s Map, and the ethics of rule breaking at Hogwarts

Joe and Todd are joined by returning guest Todd Petersen to discuss the Marvel comic book series The Vision. They touch on an awful lot of topics, because this is one of the most thought-provoking texts they’ve covered. Topics include the comic book form, issues of identity and prejudice, and just how many great ideas this series explores.

For our special 150th episode we’re joined by returning guest Todd Petersen! First, we reveal our ten most downloaded episodes, then with some prompts from producer Andrew we work together to make up some Halloween themed stories.