Nerd Lunch

On the second episode of AfterLUNCH, we reran a discussion of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl from an old podcast that Michael and his son David used to have. In addition to Michael and David, the panel featured Lizzie Twatchman, Mike Westfall, and Ron Marz. Now, the panel finally reconvenes (and with 100% more Rob Graham) to take a critical, but fond look at the second Pirates movie, Dead Man's Chest. 

Lizzie, Pax, Rob, and Michael drill into the first Captain America movie like a SHIELD laser drills into ice.

In the first of a series of Sherlock Holmes episodes, Rob and Michael talk about their history with and love for the character as well as favorite adaptations. And somewhere along the way they get really sidetracked into a discussion of board games.

Michael, Rob, and Pax raise a glass to the sadly absent Evan and get into yet another meandering discussion about what they've been listening to, reading, watching, and thinking about. Topics are diverse, but much time is spent on Thanos, Stephen King, Star Trek vs Star Wars, and spontaneity in podcasting.

Dave asks David, Evan, Erik, and Michael to find the hidden connection between An American Werewolf in London, The Butterfly Effect, and X-Men: First Class. If you haven't seen one or more of the movies, feel free to skip to the discussions of your choice: 00:02:16 - Review of An American Werewolf in London (1981) 00:14:22 - Review of The Butterfly Effect (2004) 00:27:58 - Review of X-Men: First Class (2011) 00:49:59 - Guessing the Connection

Our MCU panel (Lizzie, Pax, Rob, and Michael) are back to talk about the middle two movies of Marvel's Phase 1: Iron Man 2 and Thor. Opinions are certainly divided on the first film and there's also some disagreement about who Thor should be dating, so get your opinions ready and see who you agree with.

Michael and Rob welcome Rob's son, Ben Graham, to the show to create situation comedies in which each panelist is a character surrounded by other characters from existing sitcoms. As opposed to the non-existent sitcoms that we're imagining. It'll make sense when you listen, I promise.

The plan was for Lizzie Twachtman, Paxton Holley, Rob Graham, and Michael May to briefly discuss each of the films in Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But in a shocking turn of events, the panel had a lot to say and only got through the first two films (plus some opinions about Ang Lee's Hulk from 2003). Clearly we're not going to get through this project as quickly as we originally imagined, but please enjoy this in-depth discussion of the first two films in the MCU and we'll be back soon to talk about a couple more.

Sue London, Jeff Somogyi, Rob Graham, and Michael May make another movie out of whatever's trending on Twitter at the time. 

The AfterLUNCH Star Trek crew return to debrief about the second season of Enterprise. Delaney, Evan, Michael, and Rob discuss the continuation of the Temporal Cold War, the introduction of the Romulans, the return of the Borg, and all the other plot developments. They also update their opinions about the crew and of course discuss favorite and least-favorite episodes. 

What secret connection do 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Being There (1979), and Clueless (1995) have in common? Erik Johnson asks Evan Hanson, Michael May, Dave Roof, and David May to find out.  As always with Mystery Movie Night discussions, opinions and spoilers abound, so if you haven't seen a film and prefer not to listen to that part of the episode, here are the time stamps to help you skip to the parts you want to listen to: 00:02:38 - Review of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 00:23:25 - Review of Being There (1979) 00:46:20 - Review of Clueless (1995) 01:06:51 - Guessing the Connection

Michael, Rob, Evan, and Pax gather for another after-dinner conversation sparked by what they’ve been listening to, reading, watching, and thinking about. Discussions start from the following topics, but meander: Podcasts like Bonanas for Bonanza and The Untitled GenX Podcast. Albums like Disney's Heigh-Ho! Mozart, Yesterday's Wine by Willie Nelson, and This Is What I Live For by Blue October. Other audio material like the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series and SiriusXM Books like Growing Gills by Jessica Abel, The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, and The Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule. Comics like The Essential Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson, Baltimore by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Ben Stenbeck, Winter Soldier by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting, Truth: Red, White, and Black by Robert Morales and Kyle Baker, and Eternals by Peter Gillis, Sal Buscema, and Walt Simonson. Movies like Romeo and Juliet (1968) and the trailer for Shang Chi. TV shows like Rei

In response to The CW's producing sexy, modern versions of Jane Austen stories, Michael, Rob, Sue London, and Evan Hanson made their own sexy CW shows based on things that weren't super sexy to begin with. Be sure to tune in for hot versions of The Ropers, IKEA, the life of Richard Milhous Nixon, and Richie Rich. Be sure to visit MichaelMay.Online or NerdLunch.Net for show notes including part of the script that Sue wrote for the pilot episode of The Ropers and Evan's proof-of-concept visual for sexy IKEA.

To quote David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel, "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever." In this episode, Michael and Rob are joined by Sue London and Jeff Somogyi to test that line by workshopping a movie based on whatever was trending on Twitter at the time.

Michael and Rob welcome some new AfterLUNCH voices to talk about Legendary Entertainment's MonsterVerse in general, while drilling deep into the Hollow Earth and the current Godzilla vs. Kong film. Joining the panel are a trio of giant monster super-fans: Sophie (a long-time friend of Michael who lives in the UK), Corinna Bechko (who not only writes cool comics like The Expanse and Smithsonian Dig It: Dinosaurs & Other Prehistoric Creatures, but also has a background in zoology and has worked professionally with both giant lizards and primates), and David May (Michael's son and frequent podcast partner).

Michael, Rob, Evan, and Pax gather for another after dinner conversation sparked by what they've been listening to, reading, watching, and thinking about. Discussions start from the following topics, but meander: Podcasts like The Classic Tales, Writers/Blockbusters, Judge John Hodgman, and The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps. The poetry of Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes Books like The Exploits of Arsène Lupin by Maurice Leblanc, the Darth Bane trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn, and Marvel Classic Novels - X-Men and the Avengers: The Gamma Quest Omnibus by Greg Cox. Comics like the Thor Eternals saga, A Silent Voice, Vol. 1 by Yoshitoki Ōima, and Star Trek:Year Five. Movies like April Fool's Day, A Star is Born, and Godzilla vs Kong. TV series like Lovecraft Country, Bleak House adaptations, Resident Alien, and The Haunting of Hill House. And real talk about wedding rings, racism, pets, and staying young.

Michael and Rob steal a popular Twitter meme with the help of both fresh and familiar voices. Michael's college pal Faith Regn makes her podcast debut alongside our good friend Kay and the Muppetational return of Carlin Trammel! Our sensational, inspirational, celebrational panel creates five new Muppet movies by picking existing non-Muppet films, keeping one or two human actors, and replacing the rest of the cast with Muppets. Tune in for new Muppet capers and mysteries and maybe even some Muppets in space.

The Mystery Movie Night podcast moves to AfterLUNCH! If you're new to the format, one of the panelists picks three movies with some sort of secret connection. Everyone watches the films and talks about them, then the other panelists try to guess the common element. In this inaugural AfterLUNCH episode, Evan Hanson picked Empire of the Sun (1987), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), and Sacro Gra (2013). For listeners who haven't seen all the movies and want to avoid spoilers, here are the time stamps for each review, including the guessing part in case you want to skip straight to that: 00:05:37 - Review of Empire of the Sun (1987) 00:23:18 - Review of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) 00:36:32 - Review of Sacro Gra (2013)) 00:49:49 - Guessing the Connection

Michael, Rob, Evan, and Pax gather for another after dinner conversation sparked by what they've been reading, watching, thinking about, and - new with this episode - listening to. Discussions start from the following topics, but meander: Relationships with music Books like the Don Camillo stories by Giovanni Gerserchi, the Jane Austen detective series by Stephanie Barron, Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, and The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle. Comics like Aster of Pan by Merwan Chabane and Joshua Williamson’s Flash run. Godzilla: King of the Monsters and movies about Queen Elizabeth I.  TV shows like The Clone Wars, The Expanse Season 2, Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy, Queen’s Gambit, WandaVision, and the 90s Flash series. And finally, real talk about Family, Loss, Identity, and Spring.

Having discussed humanity's first contact with the Vulcans, our Star Trek Trek panel reconvenes to talk about the souring of that relationship and how it affects Earth's first human-populated mission into deep space. Delaney, Evan, Michael, and Rob talk about how the first season of Enterprise fits into continuity while also getting around to what they think of the various characters and episodes.