Two Geeks Two Beers

For our 50th episode, we’re doing something a little different.

We picked a classic cult icon each that one of us loves but the one hates, in the hopes of convincing them they’re wrong. Considering we usually agree on all things geek, it was a hard task just finding two things in the first place.

In the end, we plumped for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (which Tom hates) and Donnie Darko (which Morgan hates). But… WHO. WILL. WIN?

What’s worse? Willie Scott screaming for two hours or pretentious timey-wimey nonsense?

Hear our pitches as to why the other one is wrong, and find out who came out victorious.

Yes, it’s the obligatory clip show! To celebrate reaching our 50th episode (though, our ‘official’ 50th episode is coming very soon), we wanted to take a look back at the very best of our half-century of episodes.

If you’ve been with us since the start then enjoy the very best of Two Geeks, Two Beers so far – or if you’re a new listener (welcome!), then here’s a quick(ish) intro to what the show is all about: bickering about geeky things.

Thanks to everyone who has listened to any of our shows so far, and here’s to another 50!

Tracklisting:

1. Why Captain Scarlet is Spectrum’s worst agent (Ep 1: Terrahawks)
2. Safari Joe does it again (Ep 2: Thundercats)
3. Scorpion King sequels (Ep 5: Freaky Film Franchises)
4. The God of Gamblers series (Ep 5: Freaky Film Franchises)
5. Kevin Bacon’s lowest ebb (Ep 7: Tremors)
6. Don’t feel sorry for Jamie Kennedy (Ep 7: Tremors)
7. Sidestep to your left, Simon (Ep 9: Knightmare)
8. You’re overreacting Clark (Ep 10: Lois & Clark)
9. Crime Traveller explained (Ep 11: Doctor Who Wannabes Part 1)
10. Zarof and Taffin (Ep 11: Doctor Who Wannabes Part 1)
11. Richard Armitage can’t recall (Ep 12: Doctor Who Wannabes Part 2)
12. Drinking in front of Jason (Ep 13: Halloween and Friday the 13th)
13. Fancying cartoons (Ep 14: Bucky O’Hare)
14. Alpha’s Magical Christmas (Ep 15: 12 Days of Geekmas)
15. Previously on… (Ep 18: X-Men)
16. John McClane’s that weren’t (Ep 19: Die Hard)
17. Ranking the Die Hards argument (Ep 19: Die Hard)
18. John Rhys Davies’ bitter disappointment (Ep 20: Sliders)
19. It’s morphin’ time! (Ep 21: Power Rangers)
20. 50 Cent’s video games (Ep 22: Sega Mega Drive)
21. Most James Bond films are ropey (Ep 23: James Bond)
22. Smelling like Pierce Brosnan (Ep 23: James Bond)
23. The world’s biggest Arnold Vosloo fan (Ep 24: 24)
24. What are you going to about this incident? (Ep 24: 24)
25. Jack Frost fan wikis (Ep 25: Christmas Horror Movies)
26. Angry Lost questions (Ep 29: Lost)
27. FlashForward acting (Ep 29: Lost)
28. Catch the Pigeon? (Ep 30: The Mandela Effect)
29. Biting into your history (Ep 31: Dark Crystal and Labyrinth)
30. Hulk’s horrible theme tune (Ep 32: The Incredible Hulk)
31. Beer explosion (Ep 33: Red Dwarf)
32. The best ‘Flash, aaah’ (Ep 35: Flash Gordon)
33. Ross Kemp’s Christmas Carol (Ep 36: Ranking the Scrooges)
34. Bodger and Badger / Presumptious (Ep 37: 2017 – A Year in Geek)
35. Mind the nuke (Ep 38: Predator)
36. Jesse Ventura’s TV history (Ep 38: Predator)
37. Those boards don’t work on water! (Ep 39: Back to the Future)
38. Brucesploitation movies (Ep 40: Bruce Lee)
39. Turtles concert tour (Ep 41: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
40. The Lake House vs Mortal Kombat (Ep 42: Mortal Kombat)
41. Worst lines in movie history (Ep 42: Mortal Kombat)
42. Death… on the Nile (Ep 43: Ranking the Sherlocks)
43. Tom Hardy’s Upstairs Downstairs… (Ep 43: Ranking the Sherlocks)
44. Jamie Anderson’s favourite Tracy brother (Ep 44: Gerry Anderson Special)
45. Why Mission Impossible 2 is amazing (Ep 46: Mission Impossible)
46. The Air Bud franchise (Ep 47: Freaky Film Franchises 2)
47. Explaining Quantum Leap rules (Ep 48: Quantum Leap)
48. Congratulations, Norman (Ep 49: Ranking the Santas)

Ho, ho, ho!

For this year’s Christmas special, we’re ranking the greatest screen Saint Nicks of all time.

Our five are:

• Mel Smith (Father Christmas)
• Edmund Gwynne (Miracle on 34th Street)
• Richard Attenborough (Miracle on 34th Street)
• Tim Allen (The Santa Clause)
• David Huddleston (Santa Claus: The Movie). But which order will we pick them?

Plus, plenty of other honorable mentions, and a brief history of Santa as we know him. See, it’s an educational show too!

We also explain the difference between different types of Santa on screen, including ‘imposter Santas’ (eg Bad Santa).

Merry Christmas! Check out our previous Christmas-themed episodes here.

Oh, boy!

In this episode, Morgan takes Tom on a leap of faith back to the 1980s and beyond, as we retrace Sam Beckett (or is it Becket?)’s travels through time in Quantum Leap.

From its heartwarming moments, its somewhat dubious moments to its cracking theme tune, Ziggy says we have a 100% chance of having one hell of a ride.

Morgan spends what feels like half the episode explaining to Tom the show’s rules of time travel and just how Sam leaps into different historical figures. Some say he’s still explaining it.

Quantum Leap was created by Donald P. Bellisario, and originally aired on NBC for five seasons, from 1989 to 1993.

Starring Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, it followed the physicist who leaps through spacetime during an experiment in time travel, by temporarily taking the place of other people to correct historical mistakes.

Dean Stockwell co-starred as Al Calavicci, Sam’s womanizing, cigar-smoking best pal, who appears to him as a hologram.

It was a unique mix of sci-fi, drama, romance and comedy, with a truly awesome theme tune to boot.

Check out our previous sci-fi TV episodes, including Red Dwarf, Doctor Who and Lost.

Just like episode 5 way back when, we’ve taken two film franchises each and dissected just how bonkers they have got (and are still going to this day!).

Morgan teaches Tom all about The Marine and Universal Soldier franchises, while Tom takes Morgan through Air Bud and Puppet Master.

Try and keep up, things are about to get thoroughly confusing (and merry).

The Marine series started off as a 2006 action film starring John Cena, and has since spawned over 4 sequels featuring various other WWE stars.

Universal Soldier began in 1992, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, and has since had five movie sequels of varying quality.

Air Bud began life as a 1997 kids film about a Golden Retriever playing basketball. There have since been multiple sequels and spin-offs that will make your head hurt.

Puppet Master started in 1989 with a film about a group of anthropomorphic puppets animated by an Egyptian spell. There have since been 10 sequels and other spin-offs, and they still won’t die.

Developments since broadcast:

• The Marine 6 was released in November 2018 – Close Quarters – it is thought to be the final film in the series, but who knows?
• In late 2018, Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal hired Richard Wenk to write a reboot of the Universal Soldier films.
• In 2020, a Puppet Master spin-off titled Blade: The Iron Cross was released on DVD and streaming.

Finger on the pulse yet again, a mere month and a bit since Fallout is released, we’re back with a brand new episode.

Morgan takes Tom through a history of the M:I franchise, from its TV series, to the movies and beyond.

We discuss at length how underrated Tom Cruise is, why we love a Limp Bizkit soundtrack and what Bond could learn from Ethan Hunt.

Mission Impossible started life as a 1960s TV spy series starring Steven Hill and Peter Graves. Known for its iconic theme tune and ‘self destruct’ opening sequence, it became a staple of US TV for many years.

Fast forward to 1996, and Tom Cruise brought back the show as a big budget movie, playing IMF agent Ethan Hunt. The Mission Impossible film series is still going strong 25 years later, with each film showing off even bigger stunts, and making more money at the box office.

Developments since broadcast:

• Mission Impossible 7 has since been filmed, and is scheduled to be released in November 2022 after having delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will star Tom Cruise alongside Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, and Henry Czerny, the latter of whom is returning for the first time since the original film.

OK, it may have been a month or so since Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom came out, but here’s our Jurassic Park episode!

Here, Tom welcomes Morgan to the world of the Jurassic Park series, from the original book by Michael Crichton, to all five movies, video games, toys and more.

We also discover the dodgy Carnosaur franchise, the cancelled TV series that Spielberg couldn’t be bothered to look at, and what Tim and Lex Murphy did next.

Hold onto your butts, this is one epic ride...

The Jurassic Park franchise began in 1990, when Universal bought the rights to Michael Crichton’s novel before it was even published.

In 1993, Steven Spielberg’s film version was a massive success, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time. Starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough, it made dinosaurs cool again.

It had two further sequels, and in 2015, it returned as a soft reboot in Jurassic World starring Chris Pratt. This was followed by 2018’s Fallen Kingdom, both of which were massive box office hits.

Developments since broadcast:

• A sixth Jurassic Park film – Jurassic World: Dominion – is in the works, and will be released in summer 2022. It will also bring back Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum in lead roles.

Anything can happen in the next… two hours or so.

In this very special episode, Tom and Morgan interview Jamie Anderson, the son of the late, great Gerry Anderson, the head of Anderson Entertainment, and producer of many Big Finish audio productions.

Meeting at a pub in London, we chat about the history of Gerry Anderson’s amazing body of work, including Thunderbirds, Stingray, Terrahawks, Captain Scarlet and more.

Three Geeks… Three Beers!

We discuss who is the best Tracy brother, why Troy Tempest is a rogue, why Joe 90 is a bit of a little git, and what Gerry Anderson really thought of Team America.

Jamie also reveals what’s still to come from keeping his father’s legacy going, including the very exciting Firestorm reboot.

Elementary, dear listener…

For this episode, Tom and Morgan pick three actors who have played Sherlock Holmes, before agreeing on an overall ranking of the very best on-screen Sherlocks of all time.

We also discuss a few honourable mentions, the difference between a ‘bumbling’ or ‘capable’ John Watson and the politics of the deerstalker hat.

The main six actors we focus on are:

• Basil Rathbone
• Peter Cushing
• Robert Downey Jr
• Robert Stephens
• Benedict Cumberbatch
• Jeremy Brett