Wednesday, February 28, 2018

The Weekly Stuff Bonus Podcast #7 – Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos (Story 139, 1985)


It’s time for another monthly bonus episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, where we will be discussing serials from classic Doctor Who history.

The turbulent 1980s for Doctor Who reached its lowest and most fraught period during the reign of Sixth Doctor Colin Baker, when the BBC’s antagonism towards the show was at its most intense and the then 22-year-old series was even temporarily cancelled between Baker’s first and second seasons. In the midst of much behind-the-scenes chaos, the show’s on-screen quality wavered more than ever, despite consistently strong work from Baker himself. At least one true diamond-in-the-rough can be found in this era, and it’s the story we’re discussing today: “Vengeance on Varos,” the Sixth Doctor’s third story and one of Doctor Who’s darkest and most overtly political hours. The story itself, and the tale of the series’ desperate fight for survival during these years, makes for one of our most interesting bonus podcasts to date.

Oh, and we also talk about “Doctor in Distress,” a megagroup-style charity single designed to rally public support for the series after its first cancellation. It is an absolute trip and you’re going to want to watch it before listening to this episode.


Stream The Weekly Stuff Bonus Podcast #07








The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe in iTunes, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. If you visit www.jonathanlack.com, we also have streaming and downloadable versions of new and archival episodes for your listening pleasure.

Monday, February 26, 2018

The Weekly Stuff Podcast #227 – Ranking 10 Years of Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies


It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, television, and video games. You can subscribe for free in iTunes by following this link.

With Black Panther continuing its stunning box-office run and dominating pop culture conversations, we thought this might be a good week to look back at the 10-year history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that brought us to this point, the journey that began way back in May of 2008 with the original Iron Man. We talk about what it’s been like to follow (and, for this podcast, cover) 10 years of this Hollywood-changing phenomenon, and in classic Weekly Stuff fashion, we also rank all 18 movies released under the Marvel Studios banner thus far, creating in real-time our ‘definitive’ podcast rankings of all the films. We also cover a small piece of Doctor Who news, grapple with Joss Whedon’s complicated legacy in a conversation triggered by his leaving DC’s Batgirl project, and at the very end, talk about how baffling it is to see the argument against ‘violent video games’ back in the mainstream again from America’s highest office.

Enjoy!

Stream The Weekly Stuff Podcast Episode #227







The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe in iTunes, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. If you visit www.jonathanlack.com, we also have streaming and downloadable versions of new and archival episodes for your listening pleasure.

Monday, February 19, 2018

The Weekly Stuff #226 – Black Panther, Movie Trailers, Dragon Quest Builders, and much more!


It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, television, and video games. You can subscribe for free in iTunes by following this link.

It’s the movie sensation that’s gripping the nation: Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther is finally here, and it’s one of the best, most artistically accomplished, and most culturally significant superhero films ever made. We give it our usual in-depth treatment, diving into everything that makes this film such a thoroughly special, rewarding entry in Marvel’s ever-expanding cinematic canon. We also catch up on two weeks’ worth of news, movie trailers (like Solo and Venom), and stuff, including Jonathan’s adventures with Dragon Quest Builders on Switch and Sean’s time going back and forth between Dragon Ball FighterZ and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2.

Enjoy!

Time Chart:

Intro, including talk about Florida school shooting: 0:00:00 – 0:09:04
Stuff, including Dragon Quest Builders and Dragon Ball FighterZ and Xenoverse 2: 0:09:04 – 0:46:36
News: 0:46:36 – 1:30:08
Black Panther Review: 1:30:08 – 3:24:25

Stream The Weekly Stuff Podcast Episode #226







The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe in iTunes, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. If you visit www.jonathanlack.com, we also have streaming and downloadable versions of new and archival episodes for your listening pleasure.

Monday, February 5, 2018

The Weekly Stuff Podcast #225 – Revisiting Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones


It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, television, and video games. You can subscribe for free in iTunes by following this link.

This week, we return to a galaxy far, far away for our second critical conversation about the infamous Star Wars prequels, this time diving deep with Episode II – Attack of the Clones. Perhaps the most maligned and dismissed of the Star Wars films, Attack of the Clones is, like The Phantom Menace before it, a much better film than its reputation would assert, a ‘grown-up’ Star Wars movie full of complicated ideas and nuanced character work. It also represents a major inflection point in the history of digital cinema, and remains one of the most visually stunning blockbusters ever created. Once again, this was a fun and engaging topic to record, and we think you’ll enjoy it. We also talk a little more about some recent games, including Dragon Ball FighterZ, walk through some recent gaming news, and give thoughts on all the movie trailers from Super Bowl Sunday, including our first look at Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Enjoy!

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:03:54
Dragon Ball FighterZ and Digimon Story Hacker’s Memory Update: 0:03:54 – 0:20:06
News: 0:20:06 – 1:17:38
Revisiting Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones: 1:17:38 – 3:33:38

Stream The Weekly Stuff Podcast Episode #225








The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe in iTunes, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. If you visit www.jonathanlack.com, we also have streaming and downloadable versions of new and archival episodes for your listening pleasure.