Episode 25: Orphan Black, Orphan Black VS. Dollhouse, Top 5 Female Assassins

"There's only one of me!" Join us as we discuss one of the best scifi shows on TV – BBC America's Orphan Black! We explore the show's origins, list our reasons for why Tatiana Maslany is an amazing actress, rank our favorite clones, debate the show's commentary on nature versus nurture, and share how much we love its depiction of gender and sexual diversity. In the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER, what's the better conspiracy – Orphan Black or Dollhouse? We share our top 5 lady assassins. 

Download MP3 
Subscribe in iTunes

Show Notes

• 0:00 – 50:29: Orphan Black.
• 50:30 – 57:19: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER: Orphan Black VS. Dollhouse
• 57:20 – 1:14:35: Top 5 Female Assassins.

Links

• The Newcloner's guide to Orphan Black
• 'Orphan Black' creators share their Origin Stories
• ORPHAN BLACK Comic-Con Panel: Top 8 Great Moments - San Diego 2013
• Jordan Gavaris sings Taylor Swifts "We're Never Getting Back Together" at SDCC Nerd HQ
• Tatiana Maslany Wins Best Actress in a Drama Series | Critics' Choice Television Awards 2014
• ‘Orphan Black’ Season 2: Ranking the clones
• How Orphan Black Filmed That Big Multi-Clone Scene From The Finale
• How the Orphan Black clone dance party was choreographed
• Clone body doubles
• 'Orphan Black': 'By no means are we saying that Cosima chooses to be gay' says Tatiana Maslany
• Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany On How The Show Normalizes The Female Lead
• Sympathetic Characters: Gender Bias, Villains, & Orphan Black
• Holy Crap, Orphan Black's Season Finale Changes Everything
• Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Orphan Black' And Dream Sequences

Top 5 Female Assassins

Conrad: 

1. Beatrix "The Bride" (Kill Bill)
2. Nikita (La Femme Nikita)
3. Death (The Sandman)
4. Hit-Girl (Kick-Ass, film)
5. Hanna (2011)

Ali:

1. Beatrix "The Bride" (Kill Bill)
2. Borg Queen (Star Trek: First Contact)
3. Mara Jade (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy) 
4. Aeon Flux (MTV)
5. Samus Aran (Metroid)

Honorable Mentions:

• Michonne (The Walking Dead)
• The Heroic Trio
• Lady Snowblood
• Devon Aoki (Sin City)
• Elektra (film)
• T-X (Terminator 3)
• Colombiana
• Aurra Sing (Star Wars: Clone Wars)
• River Tam (Firefly/Serenity)

Episode 24: Independence Day

"Welcome to Earth!" In honor of July 4th, we celebrate the 1996 scifi blockbuster Independence Day with a full length film commentary! We discuss what made Roland Emmerich's film so successful, debate if ID4 still holds up 18 years later, and explore what it would look like if it was made today. Grab a Fruitopia, fire up your VHS, and enjoy this wisecracking Super Fantastic Nerd Hour holiday episode. Special guest, speculative fiction writer Derek Bishop.

Download MP3
Subscribe in iTunes

Show Notes

• 0:00 – 02:25:23: Independence Day film commentary.

Links

• Independence Day is the top grossing film of 1996
• Honest Trailers - Independence Day
• Anthropologists explain how to approach aliens parked in Earth orbit
• Independence Day Trivia
• Who destroyed the White House best?
• First Contact infographic
• What happens to a doomsday cult when the world doesn't end?
• "Who shot Alexander Hamilton?" Got Milk commercial
• A Bill Pullman Independence Day in New York City
• Eve of Saint Crispin's Day speech from Henry V
• The Hero of Canton, The Man They Call Jane
• Brent Spiner's web series - Fresh Hell
• 7 Scientific Facts That Will Ruin Movies for You
• Portlandia - The Knot Store
• Fox Taps Carter Blanchard For ‘Independence Day’ Sequel Rewrite
• Independence Days from across the Multiverse

Episode 23: Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones VS. Lord of the Rings, Top 5 Fantasy Epics

"Winter is coming." We discuss all things Game of Thrones! What makes the story so unique? Why is the relationship between George R.R. Martin and fandom so complicated? What's the impact of the show's controversial sexual and racial content? And who will win the Iron Throne of Westeros? In the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER, what's the better adaptation - Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings? We share our top 5 fantasy epics. Special guest, geeky psychologist John G.

Download MP3 
Subscribe in iTunes

Show Notes

• 0:00 – 48:01 Game of Thrones.
• 48:02 – 1:02:51: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER: Game of Thrones VS. Lord of the Rings.
• 1:02:52 – 1:31:43: Top 5 fantasy epics.

Links

• The Real History of Game of Thrones
• The Origin of HBO's Game of Thrones
• Game of Thrones Breaks Yet Another Piracy Record
• Stark Kids Sing Game of Thrones Opening Credits
• Stark Kids Beatboxing Game of Thrones Opening Credits
• Game of Thrones opening sung by a cat
• Game of Thrones opening sung by goats
• Epic Low Brass Game of Thrones Theme
• Obama sits on the iron throne
• The best Westeros map
• Wil Wheaton Makes Game of Thrones Even More Wholesome With a Brady Bunch Intro
• Peter Dinklage Sums Up The Entirety Of Game Of Thrones In 45 Seconds
• The First 40 "Game Of Thrones" Episodes Ranked From Worst To Best
• George R.R. Martin got angry at all the nerd rage
• The Psychology of Fan Outrage
• Neil Gaiman on entitlement issues in fandom
• George R.R. Martin stills does all his writing on an old DOS machine running WordStar 4.0
• Teenage George R.R. Martin Once Sent a Very Sarcastic Letter To Stan Lee And Jack Kirby
• Is “Historical Accuracy” a Good Defense of Patriarchal Societies in Fantasy Fiction?
• A Frank Discussion of Game of Thrones‘s Rape Scene And Its Epidemic of Sexual Violence
• Game of Thrones: too much racism and sexism – so I stopped watching
• George R.R. Martin reacts to 'Thrones' adding rape scene
• When you call a rape anything but rape, you are just making excuses for rapists
• Daenerys' whole storyline on Game of Thrones is messed up
• Honest Trailers - Game of Thrones
• When Power Goes To Your Head, It May Shut Out Your Heart
• Neuroscience Explains Why This "Game of Thrones" Character Can Only Say One Word
• George R.R. Martin: Game of Thrones Is Catching Up to the Books, And “It’s Alarming”
• HBO May Reveal Game of Thrones Ending Before the Books Can
• Who will win the Game of Thrones?
• If Lord of the Rings Families Had Game of Thrones Style Sigils

Top 5 Fantasy Epics

John:

1. Game of Thrones
2. Where the Wild Things Are (book)
3. The Dark Crystal
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
5. Groundhog Day

Conrad: 

1. The Sandman
2. The Kingkiller Chronicle
3. The Dark Crystal
4. The Odyssey (Fitzgerald translation)
5. The Chronicles of Narnia (books)

Ali:

1. Where the Wild Things Are (book)
2. The Wizard of Oz
3. Enchanted
4. Princess Mononoke
5. The NeverEnding Story

Honorable Mentions:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer 
• Dead Like Me
• Pushing Daisies 
• The Earthsea Series
• The Chronicles of Prydain
• The Dark is Rising
• The Last Unicorn
• Ladyhawke 
• The Princess Bride
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• The Giving Tree
• Xena: Warrior Princess
• The Dark Tower Series
• The Secret of NIMH
• Willow

Episode 22: Edge of Tomorrow, Edge of Tomorrow VS. Source Code, Top 5 Alien Invasion Films

"Live. Die. Repeat." Your favorite nerds review Edge of Tomorrow! We discuss the film's marketing disaster, Emily Blunt's awesome performance, the film's fun video game déjà vu premise, and how it reminded us that Tom Cruise is a great actor. It's a scifi smackdown in the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER as Edge of Tomorrow takes on Source Code! We share our top 5 alien invasion films.

Download MP3 
Subscribe in iTunes

Show Notes

• 0:00 – 44:09: Edge of Tomorrow.
• 44:10 – 55:37: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER: Edge of Tomorrow VS. Source Code.
• 51:28 – 1:23:57: Top 5 alien invasion films.

Links

• Edge of Tomorrow's strange trailer
• "Edge of Tomorrow" drops "All you need is kill" title due to negative chatter
• Tom Cruise on the Today Show
• How YouTube and Internet Journalism Destroyed Tom Cruise, Our Last Real Movie Star
• Edge of Tomorrow is "the most feminist summer action flick in years"
• Hollywood Reporter's Edge of Tomorrow review
• The psychology of Edge of Tomorrow
• Nerdist Podcast: Tom Cruise
• Box office miss for Edge of Tomorrow
• 3 Theories of Time Travel
• Movie Time Travel DEBUNKED (Screen Junkies)

Top 5 Alien Invasion Films

Conrad: 

1. District 9
2. The Abyss
3. Starship Troopers
4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
5. War of the Worlds (1938 radio drama)

Ali:

1. Aliens
2. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
3. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
4. Starship Troopers
5. Attack the Block

Honorable Mentions:

• The Thing
• Plan 9 from Outer Space
• Independence Day 
• Avatar

Episode 21: Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary, Ghostbusters VS. Men in Black, Top 5 Scifi Comedies

"Who you gonna call?" We celebrate the 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters! What makes the original film unique and why is it beloved by so many? We discuss the film's legacy, our mixed feelings about its sequel, and debate whether a third movie should exist. Defends of the Earth collide in the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER as the Ghostbusters take on the Men in Black. We share our top 5 scifi comedies. 

Download MP3 
Subscribe in iTunes

Show Notes

• 0:00 – 42:10: Ghostbusters 30th anniversary.
• 42:11 – 51:27:  INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER: Ghostbusters VS. Men in Black
• 51:28 – 1:12:49: Top 5 scifi comedies.

Links

• 30 years on, 'Ghostbusters' still matters
• Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary Infographic
• 50 Reasons Why Ghostbusters Is The Greatest Film Of All Time
• The original Ghostbusters concept was very different
• 6 Things You Don’t Remember About The Real Ghostbusters Cartoon
• Roger Ebert's original 1984 review of Ghostbusters
• 5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Original Ghostbusters
• The Kevin Pollak Chat Show: Ivan Reitman
• Why the Ghostbusters game is “essentially the third movie"
• The Definitive Collection of Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary Art From Gallery 1988
• Confectionary Kaiju
• ‘Ghostbusters’ Alternate Takes Reveal the Making of an Iconic Scene
• The Official ‘Ghostbusters’ LEGO Set Is Just Too Cool
• A parade of 1980s cameos in Ray Parker, Jr.'s Ghostbusters music video
• 10 Forgotten Secrets of Great Movie-making From The 80s
• Ghostbusters: The IDW Comic
• RIP Harold Ramis, The Man Who Gave us Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day
• ‘Harold Ramis’ graffiti spreads into South Slope
• 'Ghostbusters III' Script to Be Reworked Following Harold Ramis' Death
• "Ghostbusters 3" Plot Details: Dan Aykroyd Reveals
• Back Off, Man—I’m a Sequel: 8 Ways To Do Ghostbusters 3 Correctly
• The 10 Best Comedic Science Fiction Films According to Tor

Top 5 Science Fiction Comedies

Conrad: 

1. Galaxy Quest
2. Shaun of the Dead
3. Despicable Me
4. Weird Science
5. Young Frankenstein

Ali:

1. Galaxy Quest
2. Idiocracy
3. Brazil
4. Wall-E
5. Short Circuit 

Honorable Mentions:

• Spaceballs 
• Starship Troopers
• Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness
• Mystery Science Theater 3000
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Star Wars Holiday Special