Tread Perilously

When Rygel negotiates to haul cargo for the Tavleks, he ends up kidnapped by them. Crichton and the rest of the Moya crew are expected to pay up his ransom. Instead, Aeryn embarks on a rescue plan which evolves once Crichton wakes up from his Aeryn-induced stupor. Additional support also comes from D'Argo. Meanwhile, Zhaan tries to convince one of the Tavlek conscripts that he doesn't need the narcotic delivered via his standard issue gauntlet and Rigel almost makes a friend of Jotheb, next in line to lead the Consortium of Trao. Will the techno-squid save the day?

Erik can't help but draw lines between Farscape and Guardians of the Galaxy. But the lines go into the past and the future. Justin remembers a lot about Farscape for only watching it once all the way through. The series gets praise for good character hooks and a couple of really swell ideas. Justin enumerates the three classic intergalactic blunders. Gerd Shockley teases upcoming Alternative Factor guests. Spacing Guild Navigator Edric turns out to be popular. Erik learns the Peacekeepers are bad and The Book of Boba Fett chat continues.

Tread Perilously's Total Request Live 5 continues with an episode of the 1980s Magnum P.I. called "The Ugliest Dog In Hawaii."

When mobsters pose as animal control officials to get their mitts on Sir Algernon Farnsworth, the adopted dog of one of Higgins's friends down at the club, Magnum is called in to investigate the incident and protect the pooch from any harm. Why an old mobster wants the dog is anyone's guess? But after a second attempt to heist the canine, Magnum teams up with an actual animal control representative to learn the truth. Will Magnum also need to call in his friends to save his life?

Justin and Erik are immediately thrilled to see Michael V. Gazzo -- Frank Pentangeli from The Godfather Part II -- make an appearance. Justin introduces his new "Mustache Theory." The naming conventions of Donald P. Bellisario get called into question. Justin tries to discern the actual premise of Magnum. Erik attempts to imagine the timeline in which Tom Selleck plays Indiana Jones. Marc Harmon turns out to be the most vain actor working today. Burt Reynolds proves to be stunningly important. Justin discovers that Motorhead is eternal and Erik learns the secret identity of Magnum's unseen Robin Masters.

Total Request Live 5 continues with Justin's first episode of Titans -- "Nightwing."

With most of the team back in San Francisco, Deathstroke makes good on his promise. Will Dick Grayson arrive in time with a new costume and a plan to stop the notorious terminator? Meanwhile, Cadmus unleashes Connor at a carnival supposedly taking place at Golden Gate Park. Will he and Gar end up part of the LexCorp quarterly report? Also, what of Kory's sister, Deathstroke's children, and the Batman? And will a sudden misfortune crush the momentum of the team just as they finally start working together?

Erik and Justin immediately try to recast the 2000 film Dungeons & Dragons. Justin also tries to recall Minka Kelly's height. Erik defends the brief appearance by Esai Morales, even if he has little to do in the episode. Both get lost talking about The Harkonnens. Comic books of the 1990s come into play. Roy Harper is once again declared the most useless man in the DC Universe. Justin's perception of HBO Max sets up Titans for a fall. Wigs get criticized. Camp Cretaceous proves to be Justin's favorite Jurassic Park. A San Francisco Geography Corner breaks out and the Vincent Thomas Bridge gains a new significance.

Tread Perilously starts 2022 with Total Request Live 5! Four weeks of Patreon listener requests. And it all begins with The Good Wife episode called "Goliath and David."

Alicia accepts the case of a culty rock singer whose orchestration in a cover of a rap track gets used by a network show about kids at a musical band camp. The problem: the singer received no credit or residuals for the elements of the cover which were his creation and his manager failed to get the correct rights from the song's original composer. Will Will use this as a chance to get back at Alicia? Meanwhile, Archie Panjabi tries to learn who fathered Melissa George's baby.

Erik once again asks the question: "Who's Melissa George?" Justin immediately recognizes the real ripped-from-the-headlines case that inspired this episode of The Good Wife. He also introduces the concept of "Aaron Sorkin Face." Erik finds himself a little disappointed in Christine Baranski's restraint throughout the episode. Matthew Lillard is, once again, the MVP. Echoes of Happy! and I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell abound. Justin appreciates that the judge is Uncle Junior. Erik mistakes the breed of Scooby Doo. Milkshake ducks appear and the notion of F. Murray Abraham as a heavy gets shattered.

Tread Perilously wraps up 2021 with the pilot of one of the year's surprise breakout shows: La Brea.

When recent divorcée Eve and her son, Josh, fall into a sinkhole at the intersection of Fairfax and Wilshire, they discover an apparent tear in the fabric of space and time. Back on the surface, Eve's daughter, Izzy, reunites with her ne'er-do-well father, Gavin, whose visions may offer a clue to what's going on in La Brea. Then again, his visions ended his career in the Air Force, so he might be cracking worse than the ground under the westside. Oh, also, extinct, giant murder turkeys emerge from the sinkhole.

Special Review Unit Captain Charlie Wright joins Erik and Justin for the discussion as she knew it would be perfect Tread Perilously fodder. Erik tries not to compare La Brea to Lost (and fails miserably). Justin is surprised Charlie brought this to Erik's attention. The trio discover a new terrible American accent. Charlie's love of Los Angeles-set TV shows leads to Geography Corner. Justin calls into question La Brea's terrible exposition delivery systems. He also offers a reasonable criticism of the Waze app. He and Charlie introduce the new LA-based game "Dad or Boyfriend?" and Erik tries to remember the name of Edgar Rice Burroughs' hollow earth.

Tread Merrily 2021 concludes with, of course, Doctor Who and a story Justin didn't think would happen: "The Husbands of River Song."

When the TARDIS materializes in a 52nd Century human colony, he is immediately mistaken for a surgeon. The mistake only gets compounded when he discovers River sent for medical aid. Or, at least, something very much like it. She does not recognize his new face as one belonging to her Time Lord husband ... and it seems she's married to King Hyrdoflax, the "Butcher of the Bone Meadows." Is it all another one of her schemes? And can she really not recognize The Doctor in their new regeneration cycle?

Erik reveals his dislike of the TARDIS "desktop" getting a new design with each Doctor. He also reveals the masterplan in saving "The Husbands of River Song" until he and Justin watched all the River Song episodes over on the Patreon-exclusive show, The Full Peril. It's not a pitch for new Patrons, honest. Justin appreciates the romance on display in the episode. The Batman story "Mad Love" becomes a key point of discussion. Joanna Lumley becomes the 13th Doctor What. The Doctor's original lie gets teased and Justin comes up with the best description of Hydroflax ever.

Tread Merrily continues with The X-Files' own "How The Ghosts Who Stole Christmas."

Lacking anywhere to go on Christmas Eve, Mulder convinces Scully to join him at an abandoned home in Baltimore. Legend tells a pair of young lovers ended their lives there on the night before Christmas 1917. Since that time, several couples have also turned out dead. But when Mulder and Scully find the house is occupied, will the tenants' spot-on diagnoses of their problems lead to meaningful change or will the FBI agents also enter into a murder-suicide pact?

Erik explains why his tastes have become more escapist. The fascination with Kingpin and Vanessa continues. The film Snatch gets surprised praise. Justin outlines his relationship with The X-Files. Miggs dictates a novel. Hard Eight proves to be the best P.T. Anderson film. The pair discuss the peril of TV writers claiming they have a plan. Tamale Watch gets its only 2021 update. Erik recalls his favorite moments of Dante's Peak. Gerd Shockley gets to endorse a new product. Mulder and Scully's gift exchange gets high marks. Erik and Justin debate whether or not they watched a bottle episode and Chris Carter's reputation gets examined.

Tread Merrily continues with a trip to Cabot Cove for the Murder, She Wrote episode called "A Christmas Secret."

Its Christmastime in Cabot Cove, and this year, the well-to-do Forsythes are welcoming their soon-to-be son-in-law Charlie to their clan. His appointment to the local real estate firm rubs some people the wrong way. though. Charlie also has a secret, and one of the town hall secretaries aims to black mail him. Or does she? Either way, when she turns up shot, Charlie becomes the prime suspect and it's up to Jessica Fletcher to clear his name. Will she unwrap the Christmas Secret in time?

Erik and Justin immediately get lost in the Mainer accents. Jason Scott Lee gets stuck in Justin's mind. The Batman returns, once again, as a villain. Bane also resurfaces as the people's champion. The George Clooney sitcom, E/R, once again factors into the proceedings. Erik totally gets mid-1970s Elliott Gould. He also tries to understand late 80s "Firm Culture." Stephen King ends up becoming important. The pair envision Brian De Palma's Batman. CW actors get credit for working impossible schedules. Erik confirms his allegiance to giallo lighting and Justin imagines Charlotte Rae in The Handmaid's Tale.

Tread Perilously enters the annual "Tread Merrily" festivities with the thoroughly British spy series The Avengers and its Christmas-infused episode, "Too Many Christmas Trees."

It's the night before Christmas Eve Day and John Steed has been having disturbing dreams about a fellow in the Intelligence section, Father Christmas, and his own reflection. Emma Peel expresses some concern, but invites him to a party at the manor home of famed Charles Dickens collector Brandon Storey. Little does she realize, though, that the source of Steed's problems awaits them at the party. Will a night dressed as Sydney Carton and Oliver Twist lead to an experiment with telepathy?

Justin pitches his own stylish 60s spy series with a low-key name: The Conversationalists. Erik proves to have better knowledge of Dickens than Justin. He also reveals the unlikely origins of The Avengers. The British Empire takes a beating. Geography Corner takes on a culinary tone as the pair both praise local eatery The Hat and warn against what it does to their stomachs. The Bond connection gets mentioned, as does The Avengers feature film. Justin ponders the unintentionally horrifying Father Christmas mask in the episode and the nature of the telepaths leads to "the slowest way to kill someone."

Tread Perilously delivers on one more promise with The Facts of Life Reunion.

The globetrotting Edna Garrett decides to spend Thanksgiving 2001 with her girls from Eastland. Of course, their lives have changed since she last minded them in the 1980s. Children, husbands, careers, and boyfriends occupy their minds. Nevertheless, they are all making an effort to travel to Blair's Peekskill inn to celebrate. But will Natalie's dueling beaus, a plumbing problem, the sudden disappearance of Jo, and their family dramas spoil the Thanksgiving spirit?

Erik keeps his promise to not inflict another 7th Heaven episode on Justin, but breaks a promise to guest Paul Pakler (of Paul and Corey Cross the Streams) by forcing him to watch another TV movie. The mystery of Jo's disappearance is explained. Erik advocates for Laserdisc. John Wayne's The Conqueror becomes a discussion topic. Paul theorizes the film has an important place in post-9/11 discourse. He also points out the dynamic is off without Jo. Justin compliments the surprising attention of detail and the apparent callbacks to the original series. Mrs. Garrett gets recast as Master Splinter and the girls become another TV sitcom quartet. Paul pitches a remake of Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia with Jo as the lead and the hackey Seinfeld impression makes a surprise return.