Nerd Lunch

Michael, Rob, William Bruce West, and David May board the Bus for a deep dive into the first season of Agents of SHIELD. 

Michael, Rob, Pax, and Christian wrap up their Lounge conversation with what they've been watching and thinking about. Topics include The Sandman TV series, the resurgence of the murder mystery genre, the US healthcare system, and Mortality vs the Relentless March of Pop Culture.

Michael, Rob, and Pax welcome Christian Nielsen to the Lounge to talk about what they've all been listening to and reading. Among many other things, subjects include James Patterson and Brian Sitts' The Shadow novel, comics artist Art Adams, a 1970s Fantastic Four radio show narrated by Stan Lee and featuring [REDACTED] as the Human Torch, and a lot of Star Wars talk inspired by Adam Christopher's Shadow of the Sith novel.

Michael, Pax, and Evan (yes, Evan!) welcome Noel Thingvall to the show to talk about each of their Top 10 Movies of 2012 as ranked in 2012. How do the four lists compare and are the movies on them still favorites? 

Building on Episode 27, in which an After Lunch panel created a science fiction themed amusement park, Michael, Rob, Mike Westfall, and John Vanover add to that with new lands devoted to various fantasy books and games like Assassin's Creed, Legend of Zelda, The Dresden Files, and Tolkien's Middle Earth.

Michael, Rob, and Delaney continue trekking through Star Trek with the first couple of seasons of Star Trek: Discovery. How does it fit into other Star Trek continuity? How comprehensible are the plots? How good are the characters? It's not quite a five-year journey to uncover the answers, but it's close in this extra-long episode.

Michael, Rob, and Pax continue their rambling conversation, touching this time on Stranger Things, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Thor: Love and Thunder, art criticism, favourite vacations, Fourth Chair Carryover Questions, and breakfast cereal traps.

With Evan on hiatus, Michael, Rob, and Pax talk about James Bond radio plays starring Toby Stephens, the current state of ComiXology, the Superman ‘78 and Batman ‘89 comics, and many many other things.

We're not promising that Ocean Master actually comes up in the episode, but a bunch of other comics characters sure do. Michael, Rob, Pax, and new guest Jody Collins (the Ramblin' Man podcast) each draft a comic book Ocean's 11-style heist team to liberate a priceless artifact from an unassailable location defended by powerful guards. Listen to the episode, then head over to Twitter to vote on which team you think will succeed in the heist. 

Michael, Rob, and Pax do a flyby (a very long, in depth flyby) on the 1986 icon, Top Gun, as well as its 2022 sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.

Erik asks Michael, Dave, and David to guess the secret connection between the James Bond classic From Russia with Love, "Space Seed" sequel Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Pixar's Monsters, Inc.  If you haven't seen one or more of the movies, feel free to skip to the discussions of your choice:   00:01:49 - Review of From Russia with Love (1963) 00:21:55 - Review of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) 00:42:40 - Review of Monsters, Inc. (2001) 01:05:59 - Guessing the Connection

Michael, Rob, Evan, and Pax convene for one last (with this configuration, for now) conversation about what they've been watching and thinking about. Topics include Moon Knight, the Jurassic Park series, fatherhood, and a special announcement from Evan. 

Michael, Rob, Evan, and Pax gather in the lounge for another rambling conversation about what they've been listening to and reading. This time, the discussion touches on (among many other things) Henry David Thoreau's Walden, the history of Nerd Lunch, Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury, and Paper Girls by Brian K Vaughan and Cliff Chiang.

Michael and Rob welcome back old friends Carlin Trammel and William Bruce West to discover who the Ultimate Fictional Musician is. Each panelist nominates four bands or solo musicians to face off against each other Sweet 16 tournament-style. There can be only one champion, but the real fun is in the discussion and laughter along the way.

Michael and Rob welcome new friend Jacob Bean-Watson of the Movie Connection podcast to start a series of conversations about high school movies. They talk a little about high school movies in general before digging into the characters and themes of their first pick: Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, and Ethan Hawke. If it's been a while since you've seen the movie, it's time to rewatch it and listen to this great discussion.

Michael continues his solo exploration of Fleming's Bond novels with On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Written after the release of the Dr No film, OHMSS references the movie is some interesting ways while also continuing the Blofeld saga begun in the novel Thunderball. And then there's Tracy Draco, who may or may not be as cool in the book as she is in the later film adaptation.  Featuring music by Hugo Montenegro, as well as David Arnold and Iggy Pop.

Michael, Rob, and Evan welcome Michael's long-time friend DeAndre to the podcast to create the ultimate team of science fiction characters. Plucking favorite characters from various sci-fi subgenres, the panel not only creates an amazing all-star team, but also an adventure worthy of them. 

Michael, Rob, Evan, and Pax continue this month's Lounge discussion with topics like live music, changing attitudes with age, and of course... multiverses. They talk about their own personal multiverses, but also lots of spoilery conversation about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.   If you haven't seen Doc Strange 2 and would like to be unspoiled, it's best if you see the movie before listening to this episode. But if you'd like to listen to the rest of the podcast and skip the bulk of the Doctor Strange discussion, the biggest spoilers are between 00:32:35 and 00:51:07, and then again from 01:13:31 to 01:32:10. Though we can't promise that something didn't sneak in outside those time frames. 

Michael, Rob, Evan, and Pax chat about what they've been listening to and reading lately with special attention given to old comic strips, Star Trek novels, Percy Jackson vs The Kane Chronicles, and Michael's audio quality (for which we apologize). This week's musical guest is Death Cab for Cutie. No Infringement is Intended.

Michael and Rob are joined by Michael's son, David May, to talk about the first season of the Avengers Assemble cartoon, how it compares to the MCU, and whether or not they'll ever speak of this again.