Down To Watch

This week, DtW watches Netflix bend a beloved Nickelodeon franchise into a live-action epic adventure despite previous attempts failing spectacularly! Dan and Raul have a literal family, and fellow podcaster Chris is on to discuss what they did with one of his favorite small-screen stories: The Last Airbender. Horrors abound in the previous incarnation, so the bar is low, but that doesn't mean the 'big red N' can skate past the mistakes that have sunk their previous anime-inspired IRL shows. The good, bad, surprising, and changed are elemental to the discussion, as well as individual performances and scriptwriting imbalances. The faster you hop on this shaggy, saddled flying friend of a podcast, the sooner you'll reach enlightenment! Yip yip!  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week on Down to Watch, it's an age of honor, discipline and a bunch of swords on your hip because it's Shogun time! Dan and Raul are your pilot navigators through the first two episodes of the new FX series based on the same name book that tells the story of an English sailor who arrives in Japan to find a whole TV show. In the 17th century, a time of treacherous trade routs and infighting between the rulers of the lands of Japan, no one has risen to the position of Shogun in over a century and the position is thought of as antiquated and barbaric. Even as the new overseas acquaintances call each other savages, it's clear they will come to use and rely on each other to get through what threatens to become a bloody civil war. DTW has two katanas, a tanto knife, and everything you need to get you started on Shogun! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

March comes in like a lion, and Down to Watch is taming the wild new TV shows just for you! Dan and Raul went down the list of new series' ready to pop off in month number three, as well as a handful of returning winners. There's a ton of comeback shows including Invincible, Somebody Feed Phil, Full Swing, X-Men '97, American Rust, Girls 5eva and Eugene Levy's travelogue The Reluctant Traveler. On the fresh and new side, Guy Ritchie is spinning off his film The Gentlemen into a series with the same name, a new show also called Manhunt on AppleTV+ is chasing John Wilkes Booth, and Noel Fielding might be lying in The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin. There are fancy ladies' clubs to join in Palm Royale, a power-mad lady in The Regime, a sci-fi classic adapted in The 3-Body Problem, and 'Gus Fring' as an ex-bad man being dragged back into the game in Parish on AMC. There is plenty to choose from, and these two TV-talkers are the guys to get you hyped about them! --- Sen

A new Marvel TV show emerged, so Dan and Raul knew who to call...Jonnie! This very special guest came prepared and shared his thoughts on the brand new film, Bob Marley: One Love, that just came out to lackluster critical response, yet moviegoers seem to be thoroughly enjoying it. As always, when these dudes get together, a nice chunk of time is devoted to the world of the MCU, leading to a discussion on mutants (Deadpool and Wolverine), The Marvels (now on Disney+), and the future of the MCU. Finally, the guys dive into the newest Marvel TV show, Echo, centered on a deaf, one-legged, fierce warrior of indigenous origins gaining a connection to her familial roots and seeking revenge against the mighty Kingpin. How does this TV offering measure up with some of the recent lackluster MCU offerings? Ya gotta listen and see; nothing in life is free (except playing this pod)! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week, Down to Watch gets in the Valentine's Day spirit in a violent and quirky way with the reboot series Mr. & Mrs. Smith! Dan and Raul accepted the assigned task of watching the first two episodes of the new Prime series starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, and have returned with a mostly positive mission report. Despite the strange greeting and nebulous instructions from the company tablet, two charming strangers have agreed to pose as husband and wife while carrying out mysterious and kind of odd, "High Risk" operations in New York and the surrounding area. These orders send them into danger as often as they place them in situations that may form a romantic bond between the rookie agents despite their trepidations. This is a will they / won't they... but will they fall in love, complete their missions, or become collateral damage for the mysterious entity in charge? Let's find out! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

Down to Watch is already a bit into the short month of Feb with some new shows that might have tried to sneak past you, as if you didn't have Dan and Raul to catch 'em for you! This month, it's all about the Big Game, a couple of fancy shows, and some real-world stories worth diving into. The documentary world has tales of killers in the woods and on the soccer pitch and some stories of Texas from proper storytellers. On the drama side, we have ninjas, avatars, spy couples, astronauts, and shoguns vying for precious TV time. Larry David has earned his sendoff, awards season is in full swing, and The Walking Dead is back: TV is doing all the things! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

Winter can be a cold wasteland of television, but Down to Watch has a couple of new winter streamers to get cozy with. Dan and Raul spent part of their winter TV trip in sunny SoCal with a couple of sons of a triad boss in The Brothers Sun. The new Netflix action-comedy maybe does one genre better than the other, but with a breezy runtime and bouncy dialogue, the show managed to hook at least one host. The other half was spent dipping into the latest incarnation of a spooky crime anthology with deeply macabre musings - True Detective: Night Country. With more supernatural, more unending night, and more title punctuations than any season before, Jodie Foster leads a talented ensemble through a frigid nightmare that proves charming and unnerving in its first ep. Do these shows have what it takes to warm our TVs this winter? Answers are within!  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

The year in television usually starts slow, so the DtW is taking advantage and covering classics and cult favorites from the 80s that defined how stories would be told forever. This week, Dan and Raul caught a couple of episodes of the landmark show Moonlighting, a moment of network lighting in a bottle that made Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepard household names, put new spins on many classic film genres on the small screen, and introduced a level of writer creativity we still benefit from today. That doesn't mean the show is flawless; however, it remains an artifact of its time, and they don't make them like they used to! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week, DTW bravely returns yet again to the 80s for a highly essential work starring Cher and Nic Cage.  But Dan and Raul were pleasantly surprised to find the movie is about much more than the stars and not just a run-of-the-mill rom-com…we follow the trials and tribulations of an entire NYC Italian family filled with many interesting characters.  Yeah, there had to be a discussion about the title ‘Moonstruck’ and what that exactly means, but the movie makes us understand with many songs and dialogue references to the actual moon, too!  Come for Cher, stay for Dukakis, and after listening to this pod, you surely will be able to answer her eternal question, “Why do men chase women?” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

The new year brings new stories to the big and small screens alike, and Down to Watch has your January all lined up! Dan and Raul welcome 2024 as they carefully work through the minefield known in some circles as "dumpuary", an early-year dumping ground for content that is expected to disappoint studios. There might be a show or two worth mentioning, as the guys cover the Mean Girls musical, a new Marvel entry, prequel shows for the movies Sexy Beast and Ted, another drug empire story from the Narcos crew, and much more. Make a resolution to be Down to Watch this year!  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

DTW continues the 200th episode celebration by, once again returning to the 80s for more shuckin' and jivin', but this time adding a bit more adult edge and sexiness. Special Guest, Hannah joins Dan and Raul, who have not seen this essential 80s classic, to explore exactly what makes this such a fan-favorite movie. The pod pals dive into the successes, discussing the intricate and creative dance sequences but also, um, the main character, apparently an 18-year-old with a full-time job as a welder and fully furnished loft apartment...! Yep, and she starts a relationship with her 30something-year-old boss who white-knights all over the place, power dynamics be damned! Come for the dancing, stay for the pop songs (all winners) galore, and be a maniac! maniac! by hitting play on this here pod! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week, Dan and Raul kick off the first of two 200th episode specials with pod bestie Natalia and iconic 80s dance epic, Footloose! Episode timing aside, the double feature of 80s dance planned for the podcast milestone starts with a classic movie and a classic guest as the podfriends gab about Kevin Bacon's seemingly unchanging aura, kids behaving badly across generations and losing yourself to anger-dancing in an empty warehouse, possibly in silence. The 80s gave us a pair of dance movies that would go on to be imitated and spoofed for how emblematic of their time they would prove to be; this is one of 'em! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week, DTW returns to the time-traveling travails of Loki, the Marvel god who has seen his character in this self-titled Disney+ series given extraordinary depth and importance in the MCU.  Dan and Raul are joined per usual by Marvel-stalwart Jonnie to ruminate on what has proven to be not as satisfying a season of TV as the first was, with less dimension and creativity yet wonderful actors playing interesting characters attempting to do all they can with the plodding and beleaguered story.  We got Back to the Future, Groundhog Day, and even some flavors of Bill & Ted at play with the zany time-slippings and manipulations of realities at play; the guys discuss all angles, good and bad.  The Marvels movie and the MCU at large are discussed at length as well, during what has proven to be a pivotal and creatively confusing/stagnating time for Marvel Studios.  So fix your TemPads and join these pod variants as we journey together toward our glorious purpose!  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcas

It's Mutos in the snow with two new shows on Down to Watch this week! Dan and Raul tried out a couple of first episodes from the new television season, starting with the MonsterVerse canon entry, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Apparently, throughout the last few Godzilla movies, a secret organization called Monarch has been involving itself in the business of monsters. The new series travels back and forth between pre and post-monsters arriving in human cities, using Kurt and Wyatt Russel playing the same characters to connect the stories. The guys also started watching A Murder at the End of the World, a murder mystery for the true crime-saturated, tech-billionaire world. A lengthy first episode introduces a collection of whodunit tropes with a modern, grown-up style. Are these shows massive monster hits, or will they be left out in the cold? Either way, Portishead comes up! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week, DtW is down to watch a movie or two! Dan's been to the theater a bunch recently, and Raul wants to know what's going on in the fresh popcorn stores. They get into several new movies, both streaming and in picture houses, from big-name draws like Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon (in theaters; AppleTV in December) to Argentinian indie horror When Evil Lurks (Shutter). Pod favorite, David Fincher, is back behind the big camera with The Killer (Netflix), Alexander Payne donates The Holdovers (in theaters) and Sofia Coppola tells the story of Priscilla (in theaters), and Dan was there for all of em. If you, like Raul, were wondering if Dan enjoyed the inspirational true swimmer story, Nyad (Netflix), then this is the pod for you! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This week, Down to Watch gets back to looking ahead! With both strikes over as of recording, Dan and Raul are happy to see the writers and actors get back to doing what they're supposed to: filling this pod's monthly upcoming TV premiere' episodes! While one host looks forward to the return of favorites such as For All Mankind (AppleTV+), The Crown (Netflix), and Fargo (FX on HULU), the other host found some genre fun in new series' like Los Billis (Prime), Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (AppleTV+), Beacon 23 (MGM+?, yes) and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Netflix). They also discuss another Nathan Fielder joint liable to [The] Curse (Showtime) your sanity, a Las Vegas bomb squad too Obliterated (Netflix) to do their jobs, and a mystery right out of an Agatha Christie novel set at the [Murder at the] End of the World (FX on HULU). It's short as far as upcoming TV premiere episodes go, but there's still plenty to look forward to! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod

This week, the gang's all about that animated padawan turned live-action lightsaber swinger they call Ahsoka! Dan, Raul, and Jonnie are all caught up on the latest Disney+ series to take place in a galaxy "far, far away," and the reviews are definitely mixed. Taking place over a decade after Return of the Jedi, the new series looks to fill in some gaps left by the films and continues some stories seen in the other Disney+ titles like The Mandalorian and Andor, but the continued reliance on the Skywalker storyline and skipping around within the timeframe of that tale may begin to prove confusing or taxing on viewers. Despite that, there are plenty of good moments between Ahsoka and her band of cartoon friends, now portrayed by mostly excellent actors handling a very Star Wars-y script. Does it land on the good side of the space cheesiness we love about it, or did this one come out stinky from the start? The force is strong in these podcasters! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.sp

This week on DtW, houses fall and generations... v? Dan and Raul are back on the streaming scene with two new shows making waves on the socials. First up, the world of The Boys dips into higher education with the university-based superhero academy show Gen V on Prime. As usual for this world of metaphysical debauchery and depression, the powers that the kids at Godolkin University, God U for short, come with dark origins and karmic retributions. The first ep alone has many tragic events surrounded by the fun and drama of starting a new school, and the show ties back to the main series while keeping a unique identity. Over on the big red N, modern horror stalwart Mike Flannagan has delivered another scary story with The Fall of the House of Usher. An Edgar Allan Poe adaptation (or several) by way of Severance and similar stories, Bruce Greenwood stars as the patriarch of a Pharma family plagued by diabolical deaths. Two shows that promise creative kills and gore aplenty just in time for the spookiest day of th

Forgiveness is hard this week on Down to Watch, but fighting aliens is harder! Dan and Raul watched the new Hulu sci-fi thriller No One Will Save You, and they have some words to say about the artistic flourish the film takes. Small-town girl Brynn is dodging her fellow townies due to a plot that will be revealed, but she has to put her hesitations aside when she kills an invading alien in her family home where she lives alone. None of this matters too much, as the 90-minute run time is dedicated to fight scenes between a creative version of the classic gray aliens and an updated version of Home Alone's Kevin. It's smart and fast-paced but will the film's tractor beam pull you in? These guys might know! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message

This episode of Down to Watch is declared to be required listening for fans of good TV 'By Order Of THE PEAKY BLINDERS!!!' During this slow period of new TV, the guys are catching up on some instant classics from the golden age of streaming, and while Dan is getting to experience the successes and follies of the Shelby clan for the first time, Raul is an old (red, right) hand at the comings and goings of the Small Heath heathens. This is a show deserving of the admiration it gets if only for the amount of fun it squeezes into a small story of family drama surrounded by the violent and vicious machinations that come with a rising criminal empire. Listen up or Danny Whizz-bang is gonna come for ya! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downtopod/message