Where the Long Tail Ends

Who are they? Kurt Halfyard and Nat Almiral. Where are they? In the Village. What do they want? Information. Why do they want it? To discuss, inform, and entertain as they recap the 1967 British television series "The Prisoner".

This month Cody, Robert, and Nat turn their attention to Rainer Werner Fassbinder's from 1973. This dystopic virtual reality film was a bit of a daunting task at first, due to length and style, but the result is one of our longest and most in depth discussions as we discuss a film that has both a ton of style and ideas preceding THE MATRIX by 26 years. From Zeno's Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise, to the Wachowskis, to the works of Philip K. Dick, to how it ranks in the annals of television we have a lot of ground to cover as far as content. Even more ground in discussing the many uses of mirrors and reflective surfaces and the use of existing architecture to create a futuristic world.

And we're back! Due to me have a nightmare of a time the past few days with both a laptop and my mixing board taking a dump, I recommend you listen to this episode with headphones, as my mic does not place nice for much of the first half of the show. But other than that, this episode is bloody great as James and I sit down and discuss The Women, Dodsworth, Bernie Sanders, my new recording "studio" and a host of other things that have nothing to do with movies. Enjoy!

This month Nat, Cody, and Robert journey back to the silent era for a German science fiction film starring Brigitte Helm. Surprisingly, it's not METROPOLIS but rather the decidedly perverse film ALRAUNE aka A DAUGHTER OF DESTINY aka UNHOLY LOVE aka MANDRAKE.

Before we get to ALRAUNE though, we talk about a little known film in theaters now called STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. I imagine some of our listeners might have heard of it. And, some might even be interested in what we have to say about it.

We follow that up with our main discussion on ALRAUNE. The story of a man creating a woman through somewhat artificial means and her rebelling against his control is fairly well worn. But, has that story been told quite like this? How does the Sky Watching crew rate Brigitte Helm? We talk about German expressionist cinema, eugenics, Frankenstein, and just how much in need of a restoration this film is.

But wait, there's more. We finish up by discussing our top ten lists for 2015 and our film resolutions for 2016. Maybe it will inspire some lists to be sent in to the podcast.

Robert, Nat, and Cody are joined by returning guest Jim Laczkowski of The Director's Club as we throw a Secret Santa party. Who gave what to whom is the mystery of the episode as we take turns discussing four movies especially chosen for their recipients by their secret Santas. The Italian zombie film CEMETERY MAN, the experimental French film LA VIE NOUVELLE, Richard Kelly's THE BOX, and the South Korean action thriller make up the gifts. Whether they're the equivalent of a real cool Blu Ray, some socks, or a lump of coal is what we leave to you to discover. One thing is for sure, we had a lot of fun recording this one.

And we're only 18 months behind in posting this episode, which I think just might be a new record. Might. But here's the thing, by waiting the long to post this very special episode of High and Low (Brow). We recorded this with the idea of being a fun surprise that we might post, and then it sort of gestated and I toyed with the idea of making it a premium episode or pay to play episode, and after enough time I kind of dismissed that idea and decided I'd post it for the new Star Wars film as a fun little surprise for all of you who've stuck around over the years. It's my way of showing you I appreciate it.

As for the theme of this episode, we watched two TV specials from the late 1970's. First up we review The Star Wars Holiday Special, a show neither of us had ever seen, and a show neither of us wishes to watch again. It is abysmal, and I'm a lesser man for having witnessed it.

Next up is the fairly unknown two-part TV Special, Legends of the Superheroes. A sort of live action Challenge of the Superfriends show, until it becomes a parody of a celebrity roast for a reason I couldn't possibly explain, let alone understand. Or enjoy.With not much to talk about these terrible shows we soon delve into an inaccurate history of comics and then shifts into our TV watching habits of our youth and that's just the start of this weird pop culture rabbit hole. All in all it's a pretty solid episode of High and Low (Brow), from a certain point of view.

I hope you enjoy this belated gift, and as always, thanks for listening.

Here we are, back for another episode of The Star Wars Fan Interview. Conceived entirely from the mind of one Jimmy "The Shark" Gillham, The Star Wars Fan interview this time turns its focus onto one Andrew James from Row Three. This time it's a three headed affair, as I join in to help moderate the discussion. We'll keep this intro short and sweet, as their isn't much to say, this is simply two hours of Andrew James talking about his Star Wars fandom over the years. then at that point we hope to branch out a bit more

We're hoping to squeeze in at least one more interview before the new film comes out, and then from there who knows what possibilities will present them to us. We hope you enjoy listening, because we're having fun making them.

The first in a series of Interviews by James Gillham of fans of the Star Wars Universe.