Regular Joes Podcast

The San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), while no longer the largest comic con, remains the harbinger of all things nerdy. This year announcements were split between long awaited projects such as, The Sandman and the Game of Thrones prequel House of Dragons, and many others we will likewise be waiting a long time to see. The Regular Joes dive into the litany of announcements, teasers and trailers. Most notably from MARVEL, which unveiled a dizzying (if incomplete) plan for the next few years, or Phases, for the MCU on the big and small screen. There’s a lot to be excited for, including Daredevil Born Again! and two Avengers films in a single year!  Unfortunately that year is 2025, and we will be waiting two years for Daredevil. No MARVEL announcement is complete without the prerequisite Fantastic Four name drop, again with no details. Though curiously there was no mention of Eternals. There’s also Random Topics, because, at the Regular Joes Podcast the random never stops. Thanks for listening!

It’s been a while since we have had the whole crew together, and now that Brian has made his way to the east coast it’s time to catch up with him and Derryl. The far reaching swath of this week’s topics incudes, but is not limited to: the sudden, seeming collapse of Eaglemoss / Hero Collector, the unlikely circumstance of Dave being further into Ms Marvel than anyone else, one of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’s writers tries to claim it wasn’t his fault, Brian beams down to an old school Star Trek con, the wondrous and perplexing persistence of independent hobby shops, the zen art of Succulent Legos, the resurrection of Toys R Us. And of course, Tiki drinks, because, well, Tiki drinks. There’s also What’s in the Box and a historic, first time ever, live Intro and Outro performance by the incomparable Barry Kay. Thanks for listening!

Thor Love and Thunder marks the first time a MCU hero has gotten four stand alone films. So, that’s something anyway. We knew Thor Ragnarok 2017 was going to be hard to top, and, SPOILER this film does not. There is Thor, two of them actually, Valkyrie, Korg, and a handful of other familiar faces but somehow Taika Waititi’s second outing as director seems less than the sum of its parts. The Regular Joes break it down for you like a shattered Norse hammer. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has wrapped its all to brief 10 episode run. And, much in the way The Mandalorian, quelled the bickering throngs of Star Wars folk, Trek fans seem to have finally found something they can agree on. In the season finale Paramount went deep into TOS Trek lore definitively delivering on all the promise the series holds. Again there will be SPOILERS. No Surprise, there’s also the usual random topics and a round of What’s in The Box. Thanks for listening!

Since Disney took over the helm of the Star Wars Galaxy fan response has been, well … mixed. And while you can’t please everyone, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s six episode run proved the House of Mouse can do right by a legacy character. While not a perfect series, Obi-Wan aptly demonstrated that even a story you think you know can be improved in the telling. Note: there will be SPOILERS, but since you probably saw a film called Star Wars at some point you likely knew where things were going. This past weekend Barry and Dave visited EternalCon mostly to see 1970’s TV icons Lee Majors and Lyndsey Wagner AKA the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman. Because, really, who wouldn’t want to if you could? There’s also an extra large, bonus sized Random Topics because they skipped a week. Thanks for listening!

By the time you listen to this episode the dust will have settled on the Prop Store's Entertainment Memorabilia Auction. If you are now the proud owner of a screen used Star Wars X-Wing model congratulations! In their traditional pre-auction show the Regular Joes review their personal wish lists and cinematic holy grails, including a Holy Grail, from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, along with a Grail diary, the Grail knight’s sword and items from most any Sci Fi / fantasy film or franchise you can name. There’s something for everyone in this sale, though not every budget, as prices continue to go through the roof. With one episode of Kenobi left the hosts process the former Jedi’s journey so far (SPOILERS!) and what they expect to see in the finale… which will also have aired by the time you listen to this episode. All this, plus the usual random topics. Thanks for listening!

The firehose of streaming series content continues as the Regular Joes breakdown, digest and process what they have seen so far. Star Trek Strange New Worlds continues to be everything it promised to be. Likewise Kenobi moves towards its rapidly approaching conclusion proving there are still stories to tell In that curiously small universe. Lastly For All Mankind is back on AppleTV+ with another decade jump moving the awesome NASA alternate history drama into the realm of science-fiction. So many shows, so little time. There’s also the usual random topics and a round of What’s in the Box / What’s on my Workbench. Thanks for listening!

Top Gun Maverick Is the sequel everyone has been waiting 35 years for. Ok, so maybe more accurately it is the sequel Dave has been waiting 35 years for. Tom Cruse”s long delayed fighter pilot action flick is finally in theaters and it is breaking box office records. Was it worth the wait? There will be SPOILERS. They knew this month was coming, but you can never really be prepared for the stream-apalooza. When every major content provider piles on, dropping crazy amounts of long awaited series all in this overstuffed month. The Joes (except for Barry who is now playing the role of Tod) lay out their priorities and strategies for keeping up. There’s also the usual random topics and a round of What’s in The Box. Thanks for listening!

The wait for Obi-Wan Kenobi, the six episode Disney+ series has seemed interminably long. It has been five years since it was first announced as a prequel-sequel film, and 17 years since Ewan McGregor last donned the hooded robe - which for some reason everyone in the galaxy seems to forgotten was a Jedi trademark. This week the Regular Joe’s are joined by Droid expert Brian Mix as they break down the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi like a giant animal carcass in the desert. Note: There will be SPOILERS. This year, because fate, timing, and Dave’s wife conspired to keep the hosts from attending Star Wars Celebration Brian went on their behalf. Find out what he heard saw, and perhaps most importantly, brought home. Thanks for listening, and may the force be with you!

Ok, so they gave you a week to catch up, now it’s time to talk Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness. For the second time in six months Stephen Strange aka Doctor Strange aka the wizard formerly known as the Sorcerer Supreme follows a teenager down a path that warps, folds and spindles reality. Expectations were high for this film, which has been doing great at the box office. But even more, many people were expecting the story to go a very different way. Really trying not to SPOIL things here folks. Let’s just say, not everyone gets a happy ending. Semi Regular Joe Derryl DePriest makes an appearance to help the team break down, digest and absorb what they have seen. Right now everyone is coping. But additional therapy sessions may be required. There are also new trailers out for both Amazon Prime’s The Boys season 3 and the AppleTV+ series For All Mankind third season. Seriously, this streaming sh** is getting out of hand. Where was all this stuff back when we were locked down and rewatching Lost. Ok,

This week, while the Joes are not talking about Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness, they review the just wrapped seasons of Picard and Moon Knight. In its sophomore season on Paramount+, Star Trek Picard, the only Trek series headlined by a nonagenarian protagonist, slowly goes where any number of shows have gone before. There are some good moments, which the Joe’s point out, but as the show closes out year two of its three season run, we are again left wondering, is nostalgia really enough? While Picard’s ten episode run seemed a little drawn out, Disney+’s Moon Knight felt like it needed more runway. Six episodes should be amble time to get to understand a character. But, then again, most characters don’t come equipped with five, often conflicting, personas. Perhaps Tod, the resident Moon Knight aficionado, put it best, what Moon Knight needed was more Moon Knight. Maybe we will learn more in season two … if there is one. Of course there’s always the usual random topics and a particularly diverse c

This week the Regular Joes find the stars in perfect alignment as the newest offerings from both the Star Wars and Star Trek universes seem poised to deliver on all the potential they can muster. First up is a trailer for the impending Obi-Wan series from Disney plus. This first peek pulls back the curtain on Obi-Wan Kenobi’s undocumented middle years, between Jedi Knight and eccentric hermit. And damn, there is a lot to pull apart. Next we have our first slice of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as the first episode has aired, and two lucky hosts got to preview the first two installments. Strange New Worlds is the first Trek series whose genesis is directly credited to fans desire to see more of these characters. It also marks the return to the nearly forgotten art of episodic storytelling. It’s a little new, it’s a little old school, but it seems to be exactly what Trek fans have been waiting to see. There’s also the usual Random Topics and a peek at What’s On Barry and Dave’s and respective Workbenches. Lastl

If you had previously given any thought to getting off your sofa at any point in the next two months this week’s episode may convince you otherwise. The powers that be at Amazon Prime, AppleTV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, and Paramount+ have decided to convince you that May and June is clearly not the time to prune any of the the streaming services you have considered dropping. We will be going to Mars with the NASA that never was, traveling to Strange New Worlds with the crew of the Enterprise, returning to a galaxy far, far away with our favorite retired Jedi, making one last trip to the Ozark, and catching up with old friends Eleven, Billy Butcher, Number 5 and Tommy Shelby. If you are looking for something different there’s an Offer you can’t refuse, a chance to hang with the Sex Pistols, and a new generation of heroes with Ms. Marvel. And we haven’t even mentioned The Orville, Evil or Barry. Well damn. There’s also the usual Random Topics and an epically meandering round of What’s in the Box. Thank

The Marvel movie machine is back in full on production mode and this week they served up two new trailers, one for Thor: Love and Thunder and another for Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, respectively. After whatever the Eternals was or was not, and Spider-Man: No Way Home (which is in, but not totally of the MCU) these two films carry much of the burden of getting the Marvel Cinematic Universe back on track. And not surprisingly, there’s a lot to unpack. Because this week is the now monthly "No Theme / No Plan" episode, the Joes go on to cover a wide range of even more random than usual, topics. Note. This episode contains gratuitous beating of a dead horse as Barry again tries to move Tod off a position he has held for more than 40 years and Dave coaches him on how not to be a hater … er, right. As always, thanks for listening

Last Week Paramount debuted its third release of 1979 film Star Trek: the Motion Picture. Does this remastered version of the earlier director’s cut solve all of the issues with the original film? Not quite. Overall opinions vary on the sum total of the endeavor. On one end of the spectrum it can be seen as a sweeping visual spectacle that heralds the original Enterprise crew’s transition to the big screen. On the other it remains a monochromatic, epically slow, big budget remake of the season two episode The Changeling. Barry, Dave and Tod are joined by Brian Mix, who himself has several connections to the film. Note: at no time during this episode does Tod utter the phrase, “The Motionless Picture” so that’s progress. There’s also some catching up on Picard, a run down of the wallet busting list of 1/6 scale Star Trek figures announced by EXO-6, the usual Random Topics and a round of What’s in the Box. Thanks for Listening!

One month out from the debut of their newest Star Trek series Paramount+ has rolled out several bits of promotional video, which give every indication that someone at the company may actually understand what makes Star Trek, Star Trek. Lots of space ships, aliens, phasers and yes, Strange New Worlds to explore. Can this level of expectation be met? Hit it! Inevitably, the Joes talk about the inaugural Episode of Disney + Marvel series Moon Knight. Warning, there will be SPOILERS as early signs indicate that Marvel’s first small screen Introduction for a series lead has potential. Raising Tod’s hopes that one of his more obscure favorite characters will finally have his day, or night, as it were. They also keep up with Picard (not hard the dude is like 95) cover the usual Random Topics and a Fun With Flashlights segment, because well, flashlights are fun. Thanks for listening!

Just when you thought Disney had cornered the market on flawed dudes in armor Paramount + serves up Halo, the first live action adaptation of the long running video game franchise. There’s action, there’s aliens, there’s serious body count, but is there enough here to build an audience beyond the gamer purists, many of whom are already finding reasons to not like it? As Dave has recently rejoined the commuter crowd he finally got around to reading Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. The hosts give a mostly SPOILER lite review, and offer up several other suggestions for his next ride read. There’s also the usual Random topics and a round of What’s in the Box. Note: this episode contains no references to Will Smith or Chris Rock, so there’s one more reason to listen. Thanks for listening!

You know that show, the one where people talk endlessly about their lives, relationships, childhood traumas, work stresses, and pretty much everything else? In the recent past you would assume we were discussing This is Us or something like that. Sadly, we are talking about season four of Star Trek: Discovery. Where everyone, including the ship’s AI, either needs therapy, or get it whether they want it or not. This week the Regular Joes tell you how they really feel about it. In contrast Star Trek: Picard (three episodes in on season 2) seems promising, if also quite familiar. This time our collection of Starfleet veterans journey to the past, not to save the whales, but the future as they knew it. And, while they weren’t recording last week, two of the Joes met up in Orlando long enough for them to give Disney a whole bunch of their money, and for Tod to visit Galaxy’s Edge for the first time. All this plus the usual Random Topics. Thanks for listening!

The Batman is in theaters, which, if you are keeping score is the Gotham Knight’s fifth big screen appearance, in three incarnations, in the span of ten years. Damn, they don’t give this guy a rest. Anyway, before you really has a chance to miss him Batman is back. This time he’s broody, moody, and . . . to use an already over-used adjective, DARK. Honestly, he kind of needs to be. This version of Gotham is a scary place with some seriously scary people. Perhaps because of this the film dives right in. And the Regular Joes do as well. This episode contains SPOILERS so you will want to see the film first. So check it out once, or twice, then come back and settle in for some Regular Joes group therapy, as we all process the caped crusader’s return. There’s also What’s in the Box and the usual Random Topics (conveniently prior to the spoilers). Thanks for Listening!

This week the other Regular Joes put their faith in Tod (always a questionable proposition) who promised to come up with a theme and tell them as they record. To make things more interesting he called up the full bench, Barry, Dave, Derryl and Brian. This week the theme is “Themes.” how do movie and television songs and scores factor into our attachment to them? Can you have a great film without great music? Conversely, can a mediocre film be more memorable simply for having great tunes? Which songs, themes, and even riffs have become touchstones that Immediately transport us to a familiar place and time. And, if that doesn’t sound interesting, there’s also the tale of the Disco Fever Lunchbox, as well as Random Topics and a LP version of What’s in the Box. Thanks for listening!

Spared the burden of planning, theme, or actual forethought, the Regular Joes catch up on a number of things they weren’t covering while talking about a certain Disney + series that, somewhat miraculously, is never even mentioned this time around. They catch up on various other things they have been watching, or in the case of Peacemaker, rapidly binging. They also dive into the currently wrapping Heritage Auction of Star Trek props and uniforms they probably can’t afford. There’s Random Topics, some What’s in the Box, a little Show and Tell and that’s it. Thanks for Listening!