The Stage Select

Well hello there! It’s a quick and dirty episode of The Stage Select this week, as you can tell from the title. That’s because we recorded this a day early and I edited it like this was a celebrity-hosted podcast. Which is to say I didn’t edit it at all, so I don’t remember what exactly we talked about, or have time stamps for you this week.

I know we talked about video games, because duh. And some movies because we’re halfway to being a movie podcast I guess? Oh, and Absolute Batman. I remember that for sure, because it’s the last thing. Look, I’m typing this in my pjs at a friend’s house and I’m on vacation, so cut me some slack.

Back to shenanigans next week, promise!

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show, and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Welcome back! This week we have a handful of games, an armful of movies, and some fun and interesting discussion on the general state of video games. Also this podcast would be dead without Kara’s help. This last part was not written by Kara. Kara did not hijack the show notes behind Julian’s back.

00:00 Statues, deep wrestling cuts

11:58 Post big game doldrums, Kirby and the Forgotten Land

35:15 Will We Cringe?

46:14 Vital Shell

55:57 What games are Justin looking forward to?

01:10:01 High level fighting game matches are BORING

01:23:59 The Dark Rites of Arkham, Relooted

01:45:58 We talk about that Xbox stuff for a bit

02:15:48 Julian’s movie round-up (Cold Storage, Send Help, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die)

02:27:44: Justin’s move round-up (Star Trek TNG, Good Boy, Primate, Compliance, The Housemaid, Companion)

02:50:21 CQC (Comments, Questions, Concerns)

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show, and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Welcome back! It’s been about 2 months since we got to talk about what we’ve been up to, so this is a jam-packed episode full of games, movies, and weird tangents. So many weird tangents.

00:00 Introduction, door to door salesmen

16:24 Remembering James Van Der Beek

24:17 The new focus for The Stage Select

32:52 Octopath Traveller 0

59:30 Quartet

01:21:09 Electric snow shovels, final thoughts on Unbeatable

01:45:48 198X, Resident Evil VII: Biohazard

02:15:19 Silent Hill f (FULL SPOILERS!)

02:40:40 Return to Silent Hill (FULL SPOILERS!)

03:09:01 The search for Richard Harden, Private Detective

03:14:57 Justin’s mega movie roundup (The Menu, Witchboard, One Battle After Another, Black Phone 2, Bone Tomahawk, The Running Man 2025, Drop, Children of the Corn, The Amityville Horror, Roofman, The Substance, The Naked Gun 2025)

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show, and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

SEASON PREMIERE! Welcome back for season THREE of The Stage Select! This week we have our personal top ten lists for 2025, employee performance reviews, an introduction to our new AI assistant, and so much more! It's great to be back in the saddle!

00:00 Introductions, a special message, and some announcements

18:28 Kicking off our personal top 10 lists for 2025

56:20 Getting into the top 5 (after some shenanigans)

01:58:22 Honorable mentions and our personal game of the year picks

02:35:52 A very special CQC (Comments, Questions, Concerns)

Listen to Julian on the Game of the Year episode of Games My Mom Found: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-h88y5-1a31258

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show, and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Copyright 2024-2026 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Welcome to episode 2 of The Julian Titus show, starring Julian Titus! Justin has moved on to home ownership and having a “relationship”, whatever that is, so it’s time once again for Julian to strike out on his own. Only this time, he’s not alone…*

00:00 Introduction, and introducing the new partner to the podcast

04:32 Final thoughts on Ghost of Yotei

22:22 Things I wanted to get off my chest that I forgot on the season finale

33:08 Anthem, Terminator 2D: No Fate

48:35 Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

*This is a bit. Last season I kept seeing people download the first one of these and I shudder to think that this could be your first taste of our podcast. Please, go listen to one of the numbered episodes first.

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show, and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

We’re still on break, but we’re keeping your feed packed with shows as we rest up for season 3! As I did last season, this is a look back at most of the bits and skits that ran on The Stage Select during season 2. Think of this as your behind the scenes/director’s commentary on how things went down, and the thought process behind some of the ads as well as the storylines for some of the characters. See you live, very soon!

Special thanks to Mike Fallek: https://bigweasellilweasel.club/

Special thanks to John Gholson: https://www.instagram.com/mistergholson/

Special thanks to Giant Bomb: https://www.youtube.com/@GiantBomb

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show, and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

It’s the final week of The Stage Select’s 2025 game of the year deliberations, and we continue by pairing a returning champion with a first-timer! Westen from Big Nerd Gaming is back to even the score now that he understands the game, and star of stage and screen John Gholson joins us for his first deliberations. This week there’s only one objective: create an ordered list of ten games and crown the 2025 game of the year for The Stage Select. Things get passionate! It’s a doozy! See you later in 2026 for season three!

00:00 Introduction

03:55 Nominations and first cuts

42:46 Cutting continues!

02:01:12 Final elimination to get ten games

02:20:27 Ranking our top ten list and crowning The Stage Select’s 2025 game of the year!

Be sure to check out Big Nerd Gaming for more of Westen! https://bignerdgaming.com/

Watch Man Finds Tape, starring John Gholson, available now! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VexyLStKQAQ

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show, and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Welcome to week two of The Stage Select’s game of the year deliberations for 2025! We once again paired a veteran to the deliberations with a first-timer, as Xavier Kreiger joins Sixty X Celph to discuss the best returning game, crown the best ninja, and determine the best character in a completely reworked category. Enjoy!

00:00 Introduction

03:38 Best Returning Game

47:27 Best Ninja

01:02:00 The Ichiban Kasuga Award For Best Character

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show, and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

Welcome to week one of The Stage Select’s Game of the Year Deliberations for 2025! We’re joined by returning champion Mike Fallek as well as first-time deliberator Addie to go over the best game not released this year, the best porn game, and the best-looking game. Let’s go!

00:00 Introduction

04:05 Best Game Not Released in 2025

01:35:26 We Played it For the Story (Best Porn Game)

02:17:58 Best Looking Game

Keep up on Mike’s latest projects here: https://bigweasellilweasel.club/

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show, and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions

And that’s a wrap, folks! Well, after this season finale it is. Listen to us talk about the year in gaming that was 2025, a look towards next gen (whether we want it or not), and get into the nitty gritty about the state of the podcast. We’re off for six weeks but don’t fret; episodes will be releasing every week that we’re gone. See you in 2026, a totally real year that’s about to happen!

00:00 Recording the end of season stuff is wild

03:51 Xbox making every wrong move imaginable in 2025

35:35 Another phenomenal year if you play video games, another terrible year if you make or cover them

53:17 Combating the doomsaying in video games

01:17:35 AI is EVERYWHERE now, and we hate it

01:41:44 Looking towards next gen: what we want vs what we expect

02:07:41 The state of The Stage Select

Theme song and interstitial music by Megan McDuffee: https://meganmcduffee.com

Logo and artwork by John Gholson

Announcer: John Gholson

Join our Discord, learn about how you can support the show, and more: https://linktr.ee/TheStageSelect

Email: [email protected]

Copyright 2024 Space Monkey Mafia Productions