Nerd Lunch

This week we finally take another crack at the Listbuster topic first heard back in Episode 17. In our crosshairs is IGN's list of the Top 25 Action Movies and riding shotgun in the fourth chair is Jon Cross from the After Movie Diner and Dr. Action and The Kick Ass Kid podcast. After a healthy discussion about just what an action movie is, we tear IGN's list to shreds and then reveal our top 10 action movie lists. In our Nerd To-Dos we get the lowdown on the Superman III novelization, a goal to chat with Steve Guttenberg, and a mini review of The Hobbit (hint: it's a long movie).

We welcome Jeremy from Geek Chunks back to the fourth chair this week to put together our ultimate triple features around specific themes. What 3 Schwarzenegger joints, alien invasion movies, or facial hair flicks will make our lists? Indeed, inquiring minds (or maybe just Jeeg) do want to know.  In our Nerd To-Dos, we hear about losing the fire for The Walking Dead comic, unpacking old treasures from the garage, and home screenings of The Hobbit and ParaNorman.

This week on the show, Pax, Jeeg and CT are joined by improv actor Matt Young to chat at great length about his role as Captain Julius Valentine Baxter on the Improvised Star Trek Podcast. After the Nerd Lunchers get the scoop on the process, history, and Sixpence None the Honor's HIchop! (aka Klingon version of Kiss Me), the podcasters move into another installment of "Give That Guy Some Work." British actors abound this time as the crew comes up with a brand new show you won't be seeing on your TV anytime soon. Nerd To-Dos this week feature Horns by Joe Hill, My Life in Stripes, Fringe, and Arrested Development.

CT, Jeeg and Pax each made a trip to their local theater and got a chance to see that swanky new Iron Man movie that the kids are talking about these days. Since all three of the Nerds can answer "yes" to the question, "have you seen the latest billion dollar maker?" they decided to spend a few minutes talking about this movie. Fear not fans of disagreement, while most of the comments are positive, there are a few points where the Nerds did not see eye-to-eye. They talk about everything from how Robert Downey, Jr. did in the role again to where they think this franchise is heading. Avengers! Guy Pearce! Armor! Download and listen!

Rondal Scott returns to our fourth chair this week to mull over what to do if we actually had time machines.  We discuss a variety of self serving time travel activities:  which model time machine would we choose, what movie premieres we’d go back to see, what long lost fast food items we’d want to try, classic toys to pick up, changes we'd make in our personal lives, and it wouldn't be a complete episode without talk of killing Hitler. Our Nerd To-Dos feature the Seduction of the Innocent, The Dark Knight Rises, the 1930s version of King Kong, and birthday related plans to see Iron Man 3.

This week's Nerd To-Dos encompass the entire episode. It's a three way dance as Pax, Jeeg, and CT set out their overall to-do lists for this summer. We start off discussing the summer blockbusters we plan to hit in the theater, which will have to wait for Blu-ray, and which aren't of interest at all. We then move on the TV shows we hope to catch up on over the summer. Finally we wrap up the show with other media we're looking forward to, planned nerd outings, and home projects.

Steve from Food Junk (foodjunk.wordpress.com) saddles up in our fourth chair this week as we build movie themed restaurant menus in the vein of Denny's 2012 menu for The Hobbit. What do you get when you combine a fictional serial killer and a casual dining chain? Or an ice cream shop and an 80s cult classic? Podcast gold, that's what you get. Our Nerd To-Do's feature a bit of Korean vengeance cinema, The '80s documentary from Nat Geo, Family Matters, and the Injustice game on iPad.

Pax, CT, Jaime Hood (www.shezcrafti.com and Cult Film Club), and William Bruce West (www.williambrucewest.com) review the sitcom greats (?) of the 90s.  This episode asks and occasionally answers the hard hitting questions that everyone has wondered about.  Why were Uncle Jesse and Uncle Joey still living with the Tanner family?  How on earth did Saved By The Bell: The New Class last 10 seasons?  Why is the finale to Seinfeld so damned important?  What is French Stewart’s tour de force performance?  Which 90s sitcom character would we want to take the place of, date, or have for a neighbor?  Not to be left out, our TV driven Nerd To-Dos include the Larry Sanders Show, Game of Thrones, Burn Notice, and The Walking Dead comic.

We all have social events we'd rather not attend. Kristin Rielly joins us to talk about who we'd send in our places if we could get away with it. Listen to find out which Muppet would show up at the office Christmas party, which dead celebrity would handle the in-laws' family reunion, which fictional character would endure a toddler's birthday party and more. This week's Nerd To-Dos feature Superman IV, Downton Abbey (NOT Downtown Abby), The Hunger Games, and a comic book fire sale.

Following on our analysis of G.I. Joe back in Episode 39, this week we give the test of time to Marvel Sunbow's other iconic 80s cartoon series, The Transformers.  Riding along in the fourth chair with CT, Pax, and Jeeg is Geek Fallout co-host and self confessed Transformers fanatic, Jeff Brown.  Are giant transforming robots as badass as they were in 1985?  Does the voice acting live up to the names on the IMDB page?  Can an episode about a female robot ninja possibly be bad?  Will we talk about Michael Bay?  As the Earthlings say, "Maybe".  In our Nerd To-Dos, we get doses of miniature painting, Alias, Return of The Living Dead, and Dexter's Laboratory. And in a Nerd Lunch first, this episode gets a little sponsorship action from Kill All Monsters! and our friend Michael May.

After 20 months of doing the podcast, we finally decide it's time to cover Joss Whedon's sci-fi western classic, Firefly and the follow-up movie Serenity. And to occupy the fourth treadmill (?) for this conversation we call in our own big damn hero, Mark Dury. We recap our history with Mr. Whedon at the time of Firefly's premiere, personal introductions to the show, favorite episodes, favorite characters, thoughts on Serenity as a wrap-up to the show, and whether it should ever come back. After our main discussion we give our own take on the Star Trek TOS crew / Firefly versus match up from Episode 200 of The Atomic Geeks. In our Nerd To-Dos, we hear about Cowboy Bebop, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, The Transformers: The Movie, and a rewatching of Farscape.

CT, Jeeg, and Pax welcome Aaron Nix back to the fourth chair this week. After checking to make sure everything is OK with Aaron, we try to figure out which real world people or things would be best suited to some scenarios from movies, TV, or comic books. Which real life American football player would save the Earth from Ming the Merciless? Which real life US president would fly a fighter jet and lead Earth to victory over the aliens in Independence Day? Which real life band is most likely part of a Cobra plot using subliminal messages in the music?  You get the idea. In our Nerd To-Dos, we hear a mini review of Star Wars Scoundrels, a plan to visit Dickey's BBQ Pit, some love for Life of Pi, and a revisiting of Dark Knight Rises.

This week, CT abandons us and we are instead joined by The Retroist in his second appearance and Vic Sage, who is one of the head writers on The Retroist blog, in his first appearance on the show.  We brought in these retro experts to discuss one of the greatest gaming systems of all time, the Atari 2600.  We talk about our history with the system, some of our favorite and least favorite games and whether any of us scored one of those bad ass Master Gamer Patches.  For our Nerd To Dos we discuss Twilight Zone, Crusader Kings II, Wreck-It Ralph and the book Star Wars: Scoundrels.

The show is a three way dance this week as Pax, Jeeg, and CT discuss of all things: sports. After spending a few minutes throwing bouquets at Huey Lewis, we talk about our histories watching and playing actual sports, delving into fantasy sports, and collecting sports memorabilia. Then we move on to a discussion of best and worst sports movies.  Our Nerd To Dos include Josey Wales books, an Angel watching update, and something called Improvised Star Trek.

Atomic Geek and co-host of The Classic Film Jerks, Andrew Bloom, saddles up in our fourth chair for this week's episode. After getting an update on Bloom's bathroom renovations (seriously), we exchange ideas on what to do if we had the rights to a classic character but not the rest of the universe. Listen to find out how we would repurpose the likes of Galactus, Bigfoot, Jack Burton, Jambi the Genie, and more. In our Nerd To-Dos we hear about one geek's desire to quit Clash of Clans, one nerd's reaction to Snow Crash, one nerd's first forays into Apple TV, and one nerd's plans to watch Lipstick and Dynamite.

Jeeg makes his much anticipated return (whatever) to the show to talk party food with CT and guest Jasmin Fine from 1FineCookie.com. After getting the 411 on 1 Fine Cookie and debunking the rumor that Jasmin is related to Fran Drescher, we put together a nerd party with themed versions of our favorite appetizers / finger foods. And really what would a party be without snacks based on The Walking Dead, Mork & Mindy, or Buffy? This week's Nerd To-Dos feature a nerd's quest to live without a TV, Pie Day celebration plans, and the BBC show Ashes to Ashes

Cap'n CT and first mate Paxton Holley are joined by Long Jay Silver from the Sexy Armpit and the Dread Pirate Robert from To The Escpae Hatch to talk about the four Pirates of the Caribbean movies. They swab the deck on the cast, story, effects, what was good and where things went wrong. In the Nerd To Dos, the long lost treasure of Jumpin' Jack Doritos has finally been found. Also, what is the demand on a Twitter handle named "zerbert"?

Once again, Jeegless, this week Pax and CT are joined by Tim Lybarger of the Neighborhood Archive.  Tim is here to discuss live-action kids' TV shows.  We discuss our favorites and our not-so favorites.  Some of the shows discussed include Sesame Street, Electric Company, Mr Rogers, Reading Rainbow, 3-2-1 Contact and many, many more.  Nerd to Dos include Eerie Indiana, Red Dwarf, The Hobbit, Ted and Ghost Writer.

The Nerd Lunchers return to their own take on an Atomic Geek franchise topic. Once again re-doing a TV show, they pick the oft-maligned Star Trek: Voyager. Joined by Twitter pal of Jeri Ryan, Rob Graham, the premise, cast, writers, and designs get torn apart and put back together again in a much more satisfying way. In the Nerd To-Dos, more discussion of Star Trek takes place as well as the elusive Jumpin' Jack Doritos.

Michael May from Michael May's Adventure Blog joins us for a discussion of non-Super Hero Comic Books.  We talk about some of our favorites, why they are our favorites, what ones we read and what ones we think suck.  Nerd to Dos involve two separate Star Trek TV shows, Pirates of the Caribbean, James Bond and The Bionic Woman.