Nerd Lunch

Our fourth chair is empty this week, so it's a three way dance with Jeeg, Pax, and CT. This time around we're coming up with bucket lists of must-do nerdy, lunchy, and podcast related items. When we’re not making callbacks to almost all of our previous episodes, we uncover Jeeg's fascination with Lance Bass, praise the Kool-Aid Museum, and play a Superman related round of the "Dead or Alive?" game. To wrap up, we fantasize about what we'd eventually like to do with this here podcast. Get to listening and cross this episode off your bucket list now!

Rondal from the Strange Kids Club returns to help the Nerd Lunch crew drug CT's milk and put Jeeg in the hosting chair. Up this week is a very special episode about one of our favorite franchises, The A-Team. We spend the first part of the episode discussing the original and what made it one of the iconic shows of the 1980s. Then we turn our attention to the 2010 reboot movie and lament the fact that we won't be getting sequels to that flick. In our Nerd To-Dos, we learn about Trash Can Trolls and somehow get a reference to the 90s kung-fu cop show Martial Law.

Chris (@drquest on Twitter) from the What To Watch and Stuff We Like podcasts climbs aboard our Lambda class shuttle for the 29th episode of Nerd Lunch. After playing a little dream interpretation theater with Pax, we continue a discussion that started on the Cavalcade of Awesome about those Star Wars characters that are immensely popular yet had very little to do in the movies. You know who were talking about: Admiral Ackbar, R5-D4, the bounty hunters from Empire, and even Darth Maul. What is it about the Star Wars universe or fandom that has led to these characters being fan favorites and will Jeeg have his nerd card revoked for even asking this question?  In this week's Nerd To-Do's, we learn about an epic quest to watch all 700 episodes of a TV show and hear what lengths Pax will go to watch the unreleased Solomon Kane movie.

This week CT, Pax, and Jeeg are joined by blogger and Atomic Geeks superfan Chris Lockhart for a discussion of how Star Trek could have changed if some key events worked out differently.  What if Scotty was Irish instead?  What if Riker hadn't grown a beard?  What if Janeway's animal guide had been a lemur?  Actually we don't talk about any of those scenarios, but the possibilities of a Star Trek without Shatner, the 1970s Phase II series, and Captain Riker are all on the agenda.  In our Nerd To-Dos, we find out which nerd is already making plans for season 2 of Sherlock and talk more about the Ghost Rider sequel than anyone could have expected.

It's our first cavity inducing episode. Well, maybe our second cavity inducing episode after Episode 19 about sodas. Anyway, Jason Liebig from CollectingCandy.com occupies the fourth chair for a discussion of all things candy. We learn about Jason's collection/obsession, talk over some of our favorite candies, and eventually find our nougaty center. This week's Nerd To-dos include a nerd's quest to visit Popeye's Chicken and a special story about hanging out with one of the Jimmy Olsens from Lois & Clark.

On this week's episode we turn our attention to some of the technology that was cutting edge during our youths. We're joined by the best retro expert we could ask for, The Retroist himself. During our conversation we stroll past all manner of tech gravestones including the Kodak Disc camera, Atari 2600, audio cassettes, the VCR, and the Super Bowl Shuffle (huh?). In our Nerd To-Do's, we learn a little about table-top wargaming and find out which nerd is attempting to assemble the Young Justice version of the Hall of Justice.

It's our big 25th episode and to celebrate we're not only borrowing a signature topic from our podcasting brothers The Atomic Geeks but one of the Geeks as well, Michael DiGiovanni. DiGio sits in for our own take on “Its A Re-Do” as we tackle America’s favorite teen angsty Superman show, Smallville. Listen to find out if we think the show needed more tights, more flight, or more Degrassi High. This week’s Nerd To-Dos run the gamut from Buck Rogers to DC Comics, plus the weekend for Pax’s viewing if Episode I in 3D has finally arrived.

In what we hope will be a franchise topic, we have our guest guide us through an examination of some new territory. Up first is our old friend Shawn Robare from Branded in the 80s to lead us into anime with the Hayao Miyazaki film "Spirited Away". Listen to find out what three anime newbies think of one of the most celebrated Japanese movies of all time. Plus in this week’s Nerd To-Dos we get CT’s review of the Star Trek TNG “The Next Level” Blu-ray sampler and learn about Shawn’s growing OMFG addiction.

We gotta get back in time! No, we’re not revisiting episode 2 about Back to the Future, but we are talking about some of the best and worst uses and methods of time travel in pop culture. Of course, Doc Brown and his DeLorean are mentioned, but we also dig up some gems like The Final Countdown and Timecop. In our Nerd To-Dos, we hear about Pax’s preparation for seeing Phantom Menace in 3D, find out why CT will soon be hanging out on the Banzai Institute Facebook page, and discuss a little news (gasp!) about the long rumored Star Wars TV show.

We steal from the playbooks of Sly Stallone and guest Aaron Nix this week by assembling our own superstar teams for movie genres. First up is a Western where we come up with a list of stars worthy of the obvious headliner Clint Eastwood. Then we put together a Rom Com cast which includes the “John Wayne of romantic comedies” and that should strike fear into boyfriends and husbands everywhere. In our Nerd To-Dos, we find out which nerd has a gold Yoda Pepsi can in his collection and hear Pax’s review of the dreck that is Transformers 3 (Hey kids, can you guess who’s writing this episode description?).

While Jeeg is off jet setting overseas, Pax and CT take advantage and welcome Vanessa and Erika from girls-gone-geek.com to discuss "comic book scenarios." The podcasting crew discuss super powers, sidekicks, and which characters should be killed and stay dead. Plus, one member's "Nerd To-Do" reveals a desire to finally do some Black Canary cosplay. No...it's not CT's to-do, but just saying that paints a picture you'll never get rid of. You're welcome, Internet.

The Nerd Lunch crew is back together with Robert Zerbe for a bigger, louder, and uncut episode. After hearing about the latest happenings at To The Escape Hatch, we dive into movie sequels. We discuss what makes a good sequel, debate the differences between movie series and sequels, give our favorites and least favorites, and propose our own sequels for movies that don’t yet have any. In this week’s Nerd To-Do List, we offer a heaping helping of British TV and Pax provides an update on the Star Trek/Quantum Leap fanfic story mentioned in episode 18.

Podcast regular Shawn Robare occupies the fourth chair for a discussion of sodas, pops, fizzy drinks, cokes, or whatever you might call them. We kick around our favorite and most hated carbonated beverages, wade into the cola wars, and talk about ill conceived soda disasters. Crystal Pepsi, anyone? Plus in the Nerd To-Do List, we finally get an Earthworm Jim reference and CT's review of the Green Lantern movie.

Jay from The Sexy Armpit returns to our guest chair to kick off a new year of the podcast. Jay joins Pax, Jeeg, and CT in an exploration of the terrifying majesty that is FanFiction.net. After coming to grips with the site, each of us selects a fan fiction story for a favorite property, does our best to actually read it, and offers up a review. If you ever wanted to know who wears the pants in Hordak's Horde family or were curious about Amy Allen's dating life, this is the episode for you.

Lists have become the one of the Internet's favorite ways to cook up easy content and generate views. They're also one of our favorite ways to cook up easy episodes and generate downloads. In this week's episode we turn our critical eyes to a list of the top 25 sci-fi movies and tear it to shreds... or do we? In hindsight we probably should have decided what if meant to bust a list before we started.

Director Michael Bay stands accused of crimes against movie going audiences everywhere. Arguing the case for the prosecution is Jeeg, leading Bay's defense is CT, acting as star witness is Jeremy of Geekchunks.com, and presiding over our podcast courtroom is the honorable Judge Paxton Holley. Find out if Transformers, Bad Boys, Pearl Harbor, and the rest warrant keeping Bay off the streets and out of the director's chair. To paraphrase the late Johnnie Cochran (well, not really), "if the earbuds fit, you must listen to this."

Our original idea for Episode 15 was a great one, but it was shelved. Instead our old pal Fitz from Episode 8 returns to talk about great TV shows that were axed too soon. Of course Firefly and Arrested Development come up, but we delve into an interesting selection of other shows including nerd favorites Veronica Mars, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., and Cleopatra 2525 (huh?). Grab this episode now before the suits at The Atomic Geeks Podcasting Network get wind of our ratings.

Access Hollywood's Ultimate Star Wars Fan, Jason Collier, accompanies us to Kashyyyk for our first (and last?) annual Life Day celebration. Rather than invoke our rights under the Geneva Convention, we endure the Star Wars Holiday Special for you. Harvey Korman's bad comedy, Carrie Fisher's singing, and Chewbacca's dad's "special time" with Diahann Carroll only scratch the surface of this TV disaster. Listen and find out why George Lucas wanted to smash every copy of the special with a sledgehammer and why each of us would gladly drive him to Home Depot to buy a sledgehammer.

Kristin from the Geeks Girls Network joins CT and Pax to discuss characters that would animate our cels, so to speak, if we were also cartoons. Find out who we choose as the one to reject, the one who got away, the ideal bad girl/guy, and the true love. Also listen for the patented TAG Network creepiness detector to alert when we consider the ages of some picks, discuss "He-Man's sword", delve into cross species dating, and think about the prospect of cartoon babies. Plus in the most unexpected twist of the week, one of the Nerd To-Do Lists includes a marathon... in real life... involving actual running.

This week we follow in the footsteps of Weird Al Yankovic and program our very own UHF stations. None of us are bold enough to reboot the Volcano Worshiper's Hour, but we devise some interesting line-ups regardless. As long as it’s nerdy, we’ve got it all on NerdHF. A local creature feature host? Check. Classic 80s cartoons? Double check. Star Trek reruns? Of course. Angel reunion movies with David Boreanaz? Sure, why not. But wait, there’s more! All listeners will also receive the new Nerd To-Do List segment at no extra charge.