The Incomparable

We convene a panel of superhero TV experts to recap the past year’s superhero series, including “Arrow”, “The Flash”, “Gotham”, “Agents of SHIELD”, “Agent Carter”, “Daredevil”, “Supergirl”, “Legends of Tomorrow”, and “Jessica Jones.” (If you’re a complete spoiler-phobe, you may want to avoid some of these segments, though there is probably not a single character death or other twist that couldn’t be reversed at any point…)

We celebrate all of mutantkind with a broad discussion of Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men, especially the versions we grew up reading in comics. What makes their outsider status resonate? Where should new readers start? And we choose some of our favorite X-Men characters in a sequence of choices that is definitely not a draft.

Old Movie Club views two films produced—and some would say directed—by Howard Hawks. The fast-paced comedy “His Girl Friday” leads us off, followed by the original sci-fi horror film “The Thing from Another World.” Both feature snappy overlapping dialogue, but only one features a murderous alien carrot man.

It’s time for our annual survey of some of the best science fiction and fantasy novels of the year, as we read all seven of the nominees for the Nebula Award. If you’re looking for some new books to read, check out our discussion—we tread lightly on the spoilers.

After 300 episodes, we discuss how our media-consumption habits have changed because of the podcast. Then we shift gears for a couple of drafts, and we answer a bunch of questions from listeners.

Flash! Direct from theaters to this podcast, we convene a panel of recent viewers of the latest Marvel superhero epic, “Captain America: Civil War.” Do the rationales of the two sides hold together in the face of reality? Is Tony a bad dude for recruiting a kid to use against his opponents? How do the new faces, including Spider-Man and Black Panther, fare? And how well does this movie fit into the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe series as a whole?

It’s a cult show that could’ve hit the zeitgeist if it had just happened a few years later. From angsty vampire-human romances to a butt-kicking lead in a nice dress, the first season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” delivers. We break down our favorite episodes, marvel at the show’s great casting, and appreciate the unlikely nature of a smart, character-driven teen series emerging from the wasteland that was The WB network in the late ’90s.

Our survey of director Hayao Miyazaki’s work continues with 1984’s “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” in which a post-apocalyptic world (of the 1980s nuclear armageddon variety) is populated by princesses, bugs that can’t help but be buggin’, a bunch of flying vehicles, and a suspicious fall through quicksand.

You asked for it, and we delivered! Batman University is in session, as we dive into “Batman: The Animated Series.” Lifelong Batman fan Tony Sindelar has provided us with a 10-episode watch list, which served as a refresher for our panel and an introduction for our host. What makes many people call this version of Batman the definitive one? How does a show that’s for kids end up being so strikingly adult? How is the character of this Batman not like recent movie depictions? We’ve got the answers.

The first teaser trailer for “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” has dropped, and so in the spirit of our “Force Awakens” teaser breakdown, we’re back to provide frame-by-frame analysis of all 90 seconds. This is the first in a new series of “Star Wars” anthology movies, this one set before and around 1977’s original film. How do you make a period piece about a fictional period? What’s Felicity Jones’s character all about? Why does Forrest Whitaker have a Darth Vader breathing harmonica? And why does Jason refer to all droids like they’re vacuum cleaners? For some questions there are no good answers.

Our survey of questionable science fiction films moves to the 1950s for “GOG,” a story featuring a secret nuclear base, a couple of “robuts,” a shifty Swiss scientist, a neglected Coke machine, a whole lot of science lectures, and then many dead scientists.

Comic Book Club returns with a discussion of Kieron Gillan and Jamie McKelvie’s “The Wicked + The Divine.” It’s a story about the temporary return of a pantheon of gods, and touches on issues of fame, youth culture, and—as Wikipedia informs us—pop music. Fortunately, there’s also a murder-mystery plot to drive everything forward. Plus: Lisa tells us what comics to read next!

The worst of the Next Generation “Star Trek” movies, “Insurrection” and “Nemesis”, are in our sights. Why don’t they work? What were the producers thinking? How tenuous was Star Trek’s life as a franchise that two bad movies in a row could kill it? You’ve got to laugh to keep from crying.

Our Book Club returns to read two recent, highly praised science fiction novels. From Kim Stanley Robinson comes “Aurora,” the story of a spaceship sent from Earth to a far-off star in a trip that will take generations. And from Ian McDonald comes “Luna: New Moon,” a sort of “Dallas” (or is it “The Godfather”?) set on and under the surface of the moon. Plus, what else are we reading?

The recently released video game “Firewatch,” by Campo Santo and Panic, is the subject of our discussion this week. This is a game that’s got a plot, but so much of the richness comes from characters and dialogue. Also, there are a lot of trees.

Our draft of favorite albums concludes! Opera, classical, and show tunes are heard from, amid the squalls of electric guitars. Also, we lose our Canadian government funding. But you’re sure to find (or rediscover) some music of interest! (Part 2 of 2.)

And now for something completely different: A draft of our favorite albums. Live from that metaphorical desert island, we select some favorite collections of music for you to listen to again and again—or to discover for the very first time. (Part 1 of 2.)

What does God need with a starship? We take a look at the two most (justly) maligned films starring the original “Star Trek” cast, “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.” What do these two films have in common? Do they have any redeeming qualities? We watched them so you didn’t have to, because we need our pain!

It’s taking the culture by storm, the biggest Broadway musical in years—and it’s about… the first U.S. secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton? It seems unlikely, but nothing about the “Hamilton” story is likely. Lin-Manuel Miranda took the biography of a lesser-known early American figure and turned it into a story full of catchy songs and social commentary, including the rapid-fire hip-hop lyrics and the casting of non-white actors in most of the parts. Four of our “Hamilton”-mad panelists discuss the appeal of the show and why it works so incredibly well. (This we’ve also launched an entire podcast devoted to “Hamilton”, so if you want to hear various panels discuss the show song by song, you may want to subscribe to that, too.) Piano intro and outro music from Hamilton played by Christopher Breen.

In this edition of Comic Book Club, we discuss one of Marvel’s newest heroes, Kamala Khan, the star of G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona’s “Ms. Marvel.” She’s a Muslim from New Jersey, so in some ways she’s a very different kind of Marvel super hero, but she’s also a tortured teen trying to come to terms with her identity—so in other ways, she’s very much the model of a Marvel super hero. Plus: What are we reading?