HunterWick Podcast

 

Where we celebrate (and vilify) the highs (and lows) of 2016. We update previous Nerdstalking topics such as Batman v Superman, The Twilight Zone, and Stephen King, and pick at the scabs left by the many celebrity deaths of 2016 including Carrie Fisher. To top things off, we put the "Death" in "Death Star" with a spoiler-filled examination of the tale of how the plans of that technological terror were stolen, in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Show Notes: First, Recap of Some of the Topics We Covered Over 2016 01:09 - Is Batman v Superman still godawful (according to Ross)? 04:39 - How about Suicide Squad? Still an affront to human decency? 08:54 - Stephen King’s resourgent year, including the upcoming IT movie. 12:30 - Ross triggers Chad by mentioning the Rocky Horror TV remake. 17:29 - New ways to visit the classic Twilgiht Zone show. 19:03 - Which leads us into talk of the excellent Black Mirror anthology show. 23:14 - Bill evicerates Ghostbusters 2016. 25:14 - Some Star Trek talk, TOS, Discovery, Beyond, etc. 36:23 - Talk of the Roddenberry Vault, a collection of Star Trek memorabilia. 40:24 - Following up on the Alien franchise, with Covenant news. 41:47 - What we’re looking forward to in 2017: Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Thor Ragnarok, Wonder Woman, some other DC crap, the Netflix stuff, Avengers movies etc etc. 52:52 - We read the celebrity death roll call for the singularly hard-hit 2016. 1:01:49 - We throw a particular light on the passing of Carrie Fisher. 1:07:50 - Some Force Awakens talk. 1:11:54 - We boggle at the fact that Ross hasn’t seen Spaceballs! 1:13:06 - Rogue One talk starts. 1:15:50 - This is a MOVIE! 1:16:25 - Everybody dies. 1:19:05 - The sacrifices made during Rogue One enable the stars of A New Hope to triumph. 1:26:10 - The moment in A New Hope that changed your life. 1:27:44 - Ross wishes the main characters had been spared…. and spent the rest of their days being tortured in an Empire penal facility. 1:30:01 - Chad has a beef with Vader’s helmet in this movie. 1:34:27 - Some bones to pick with The Force Wakens. 1:37:26 - We re-write the ending of Rogue One to save Ross some tears. 1:41:47 - Some of Rogue One harkens back to the very first synopsis and draft of the original Star Wars movie. 1:44:47 - Fake Tarkin and fake Leia. 1:52:16 - The wonky Death Star weapon in this movie. 1:57:00 - A tasty out-take at Chad’s expense.

Your Nerdstalkers:

Bill Hunter - writer, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters

Chad Wick - writer, musician and creator of the Canadian Culture Thing

with Special Geekspeaker Duh Boss

 

Where we review the many dimensions of Marvel's latest superhero flick, featuring the Master of the Mystic Arts. We start off though talking about America's latest supervillain, Donald Trump, the Wonder Woman movie, the announcement of the Nintendo Switch game console, the Lego Batman Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy 2: Electric Boogaloo, Chad's run-in with Amy Acker, and the stand-alone Star Wars film Rogue One.

Show Notes: First, the Nerdly News 01:10 - The orange elephant in the room: Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States. 04:10 - One good thing about a Trump presidency: it’ll spur on time machine technology. 04:39 - The Wonder Woman trailer. 05:25 - Chad complains about getting free beer. 12:45 - The Nintendo Switch game console announcement. 18:12 - How good is the Lego Batman trailer. 21:47 - More trailer talk: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II. 24:57 - We examine the plans for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. 29:56 - One the subject of Star Wars, talk of Force Awakens and the missed opportunities to examine the relationship between Han and Chewie. 32:49 - Star Wars as John Hughes comedy. 33:44 - Stranger Things 2. 34:26 - Dr. Strange talk starts. 35:20 - Too much origin story? 38:05 - Folding world effects ripped right out of Chris Nolan’s Inception. 40:78 - A hero is only as good as their villain… and the villains in Dr. Strange sucked. 45:37 - The awesome Cloak of invisibility er I mean Levitation. 46:35 - The Steve Ditko influences. 50:04 - Baron Mordo was a better villain than whatever the other one was named. 51:24 - The strangeness of the Dr. Strange character. 58:25 - It’s all in the hands. 1:04:07 - The supreme Tilda Swinton. 1:08:20 - A movie titled Dr. Strange wasn’t strange enough. 1:14:59 - A very creative and non-smashing things ending. 1:18:03 - What Stan Lee is reading on the bus in his Dr. Strange cameo. 1:22:20 - Dr. Stephen Strange as a horndog sleazebag.

Your Nerdstalkers:

Bill Hunter - writer, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters

Chad Wick - writer, musician and creator of the Canadian Culture Thing

with Special Geekspeaker Duh Boss

 

Where we discuss the five major flicks in the Alien movie franchise: Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien3 (1992), Alien: Resurrection (1997), and Prometheus (2012). The AvP movies get the occasional mention, but we decline to discuss them in-depth. We start out the show covering some upcoming and imminent genre stuff, such as Marvel's Doctor Strange, and TV shows like the new season of Supergirl.

Show Notes: First, the Nerdly News 01:10 - The upcoming Dr. Strange Marvel movie, and the need for the character to be American. 05:20 - The new golden age of television continues. 06:34 - Bill and Ross give a report of their viewing of Star Trek: The Motion Picture on the big screen at TIFF, accompanied by a lecture by effects master Douglas Trumbull. 10:28 - A look towards Blade Runner: 2049. 13:21 - The big DC TV show 3-episode Supergirl, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow musical crossover. 17:04 - Alien franchise talk starts. 19:40 - How the first Alien movie came to be. 23:45 - Alien screenwriters’ Dan O’Bannon's and Ron Shusett’s work on the animated film Heavy Metal. 26:50 - Bill: Alien is a sexual movie without any sex in it. 28:24 - The influential grotesqueness of H.R. Giger 30:11 - How smart really is The Monster of Alien. 36:12 - The challenged expectations of the original Alien. 37:18 - More on the sexual allegory of the Alien movies. 39:36 - The shocking Chestburster scene. 44:12 - The iconic “Space Jockey” imagery. 47:18 - A huge, breakout role for the great Sigourney Weaver. 49:48 - Aliens talk starts. 56:05 - Medical Bay scene, Ripley and Newt. 57:44 - James Cameron and how the Alien sequel came about. 1:00:53 - Bill Paxton and Fishheads. 1:02:15 - Cameron’s great difficulties filming in England. 1:03:29 - The mother/daughter dynamic of Aliens. 1:04:12 - Why Aliens is one of the perfect movies. 1:08:40 - Random Aliens trivia time. 1:15:50 - Alien3 talk starts. 1:17:50 - Poor David Fincher. 1:23:44 - Alien Resurrection talk starts. 1:30:08 - The merchandising of the Alien films. 1:38:20 - Prometheus talk starts. 1:41:45 - An example of the incredibly stupid things that characters do in this film. 1:45:45 - Run to the side, morons! 1:47:58 - Prometheus does have the best gross-out scene next to the original’s chestburster. 1:51:22 - The movie also does some interesting fill-in of the mythology of the alien race. 1:55:35 - Alien v Predator v Highlander?

 

Your Nerdstalkers:

Bill Hunter - writer, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters

Chad Wick - writer, musician and creator of the Canadian Culture Thing

with Special Geekspeaker Duh Boss

 

Where Chad flashes his "#1 Elvis Fan" badge, Ross waxes on - waxes off, Jacquie shouts from her Wookie treehouse, Bill plays the Fall Guy and Ross and Chad leave their cake out in the rain.

Show Notes: 00:55 - Best Elvis fight scene, according to a drunken Chad. 02:40 - When Elvis met Richard (Nixon). 06:05 - Why do doctors always prescribe endless pills to celebrities? 07:19 - How smart was Elvis, really? 10:30 - Chuck Berry and his #1 Ding a Ling. 11:40 - The vocal stylings of William Shatner. 13:30 - Some Star Wars Holiday Special panel talk. 16:05 - Donald Trump’s yuuuuuge wall. 18:00 - Drunken ramblings. 19:00 - Chad is into Thomas Harris (Silence of the Lambs, et al) 21:18 - Speaking of drunkenness, how about that Richard Harris?

Your Nerdstalkers:

Bill Hunter - writer, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters

Chad Wick - writer, musician and creator of the Canadian Culture Thing

Special Guests: Laura Sheppard and Jacqueline Pillon, Actor, appearing on Fugget About It on Adult Swim

with Special Geekspeaker Duh Boss

 

Where Bill and Ross gleefully examine the most influential TV show of all time, and Chad spends his spare time during the episode building an Enterprise model out of hot dogs and baloney.

  Show Notes: 03:00 - To start with, how the show constantly almost ended after each season it ran. 04:15 - The show did so many firsts in television. 06:00 - Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s previous TV show, The Lieutenant., and its influence on Star Trek. 08:20 - Did the show have the first interracial kiss on TV? 09:48 - Bill’s vote for Best Episode: City on the Edge of Forever. 10:03 - Harlan Ellison is a dick. 10:50 - Montgomery “Scotty” Scott… drug dealer. 13:40 - Chad has had his mouth removed for this episode by Charlie X. 16:40 - That moment when all of time has been erased for the characters. 19:29 - Edith Keeler must die. 21:22 - Chad’s favourite: What Little Girls are Made of. 27:10 - Bill’s Creepiest Moment on Star Trek - Charlie X. 30:30 - Ross’s Creepiest Moment - And the Children Shall Lead 32:56 - Bill’s runner-up for creepiest Star Trek moment - the freakish-looking Clint Howard from The Corbomite Maneuver. 36:43 - The avant--garde cinematography and lighting of Star Trek. 40:48 - The travesty of the Star Trek TOS remastered series. 41:43 - Ross meets the actual U.S.S. Enterprise. 54:17 - Most unsettling episode: Wolf in the Fold. 1:02:05 - Ross’s favourite episode: The Doomsday Machine. 1:08:06 - Chad’s other favourite/Best Shatner histrionics: The Enemy Within. 1:12:20 - The birth of Spock’s Vulcan nerve pinch. 1:14:30 - Where is Chad’s nutbag? 1:16:15 - Best Guest Shot - William Campbell in The Squire of Gothos. 1:27:50 - John Colicos and the introduction of the Klingons in Errand of Mercy. 1:29:40 - Best Visual Effect - Lurissa disappears in That Which Survives. 1:32:07 - Why Chad says the third season of Star Trek is the greatest season of any Trek show. 1:33:03 - Bill’s worst episode: The Way to Eden. 1:36:20 - Chad’s drunken choice for worst episode: Who Mourns for Adonias? 1:39:30 - Best Creature: The Horta from Devil in the Dark. 1:41:45 - Holy smokes, a bit of Star Trek: The Next Generation talk! 1:47:50 - Runner up, Best Creature: The ejaculating happy-plants from This Side of Paradise. 1:52:55 -Bill, trying to keep his drunken co-hosts in check, talks about the flying vomit creatures from Operation: Annihilate! 1:53:38 - Best fight scene from Star Trek is agreed to be in The Gamesters of Triskellion.  

Your Nerdstalkers:

Bill Hunter - writer, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters

Chad Wick - writer, musician and creator of the Canadian Culture Thing

with Special Geekspeaker Duh Boss

 

Where Chad and Ross talk Ghostbusters 2016, Jacquie contemplates head a-holes, Evan says "Screw Frank Miller", and Ross relates his fateful meeting with Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip.

Your Nerdstalkers:

Bill Hunter - writer, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters

Chad Wick - writer, musician and creator of the Canadian Culture Thing

Special Guests: Evan Dean and Jacquie Pillon, the voice of Cookie Falcone on Adult Swim's Fugget About It

with Special Geekspeaker Duh Boss

 

**BIG SPOILERS FOR SUICIDE SQUAD AND OTHER DC/MARVEL PROPERTIES**

Where the Nerdstalking panel dissects Suicide Squad, Ross takes on Mike Tyson, Chad disses the Yugo and special guest Evan props up the crumbling DC movie empire.

Your Nerdstalkers:

Bill Hunter - writer, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters

Chad Wick - writer, musician and creator of the Canadian Culture Thing

Special Guest: Evan Dean with Special Geekspeaker Duh Boss

 

**BIG SPOILERS FOR VARIOUS TWILIGHT ZONE EPISODES**

Where we discuss the greatest television show ever made, Bill names every actor in Hollywood, Chad materializes out of thin air and Ross sparkles like in that other Twilight.

Your Nerdstalkers:

Bill Hunter - writer, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters

Chad Wick - writer, musician and creator of the Canadian Culture Thing

and on loan from the Twilight Zone, Special Geekspeaker Duh Boss

 

**BIG SPOILERS FOR VARIOUS STEPHEN KING BOOKS AND MOVIES**

Where Bill pontificates about the Master of Horror, Ross shares his fear of clowns, and Laura gets out the wooden block and sledgehammer.

Your Nerdstalker:

Bill Hunter - writer at Fandom, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters

Special Guest: Laura Sheppard with Special Geekspeaker Duh Boss

 

**BIG SPOILERS FOR BvS**

Where we drive home after seeing Batman v Superman and give our opinions on the film, Bill puts his tentpole into one of the characters, Laura eagerly awaits Justice League and we almost brand an idiot motorist.

The Passengers:

Bill Hunter - writer, and creator of video game history website The Dot Eaters

Chad Wick - writer, musician and creator of the Canadian Culture Thing 

Special Guest: Laura Sheppard with Special Geekspeaker Duh Boss