The Incomparable

Quick! Before the planet is destroyed! Climb on your Kryptonian dragonfly-horse thing and join us to discuss “Man of Steel,” the first in a new cycle of Superman movies. We debate the talents of director Zack Snyder, question the movie artistically and as a calculated act of commerce, praise a lot of very good things about the movie, and complain a whole lot about gleeful destruction and the accompanying property damage.

Winter is coming! Any day now. No, really… Wait for it… Hmm. In the meantime, here’s our review of this year’s “Game of Thrones” season, recorded with all of us in the same room! Haven’t seen it? Skip ahead an hour and listen to us talk about other TV shows we watched during the 2012-2013 TV season, including the finale of “Fringe.”

“My Neighbor Totoro” is an animated classic in which nothing much happens, but we love it anyway. We discuss how the movie is all about children’s fears of change, ponder the differences between subtitled and dubbed versions, and contemplate corn as a cure for tuberculosis. CREEPY!

Press down on the warp lever and hide away your out-of-date continuity reference materials. It’s time for us to discuss J.J. Abrams’ reimagined Star Trek, with an emphasis on the new film “Star Trek Into Darkness.” Among our topics: The great casting in both movies, the merits of a Spock-to-Spock Skype call, McCoy’s Tribble-based scientific method, and the themes of self-sacrifice in the new movie. Plus we reference every single classic Star Trek movie along the way! And yes, there are spoilers. Lots and lots of spoilers.

From aliens in the wi-fi to a brain leech under a hat, from some bad nannying to a trio of idiots with a really big space magnet, it’s been an odd half-season for our favorite Time Lord. Here’s our recap of the second half of series 7 of “Doctor Who.” Plus: The Spoiler Horn makes it safe for everyone who wanted to learn the Doctor’s real name.

Put on your high-tech suit of armor and join us for our discussion of “Iron Man 3.” We talk about Tony’s post-traumatic stress, his problematic relationship with technology, and his questionable choice to use remote armor to give a present to his girlfriend. We also discuss the pros and cons of the first two Iron Man movies, analyze how this film fits in as a post-“Avengers” story, and appreciate Tony’s MacGyver moment.

No more mutants! We discuss the 2005 Marvel Comics miniseries “House of M,” in which writer Brian Michael Bendis gets to show off his love of meetings, Doctor Strange, and meetings chaired by Doctor Strange! Also, there’s a crazy “What If?” style parallel universe, approximately a billion spin-offs, and in the cruelest twist, Peter Parker is briefly allowed to be happy. And finally there’s a shocking finale that set the tone for mutant storylines up to the present day. Listen before the Scarlet Witch wishes this podcast out of existence!

We delve into the children’s literary classic “A Wrinkle In Time,” by Madeline L’Engle, as well as its recent graphic-novel adaptation by Hope Larson. Why is there a brain on that table? What are the pros and cons of cooking dinner on a Bunsen burner for the average Super-Cool Science Family? Come for the Cold War allegories about communism, stay to talk religion with a bunch of nerds!

Bonus episode! Here’s the (warning: UNEDITED) result of our second Dungeons and Dragons session. After some dithering in the local vicinity, we venture out into the desert to meet glass spiders and some really unpleasant green guys.

We conclude our discussion of “Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.” We discuss the merits of podracing, debate who the Jedi’s version of Fonzie is, and grapple with tricky euphemisms. Plus, is the final lightsaber duel cool or just over-choreographed? And why is there a hall full of forcefields, next to a room with no guard rails? Party on, Darth! (Part 2 of 2.)

They said it couldn’t be done! They said it shouldn’t be done! But here we are, talking about “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.” Why are the Jedi such jerks? A little Jedi goes a long way. Also, the biggest letdown of John Siracusa’s life to date, stupid droids, good actors being boring, text versus subtext, the merits of prequels in general, and why this is a movie that makes us dream… of a better movie. Exqueeze me? (Part 1 of 2.)

Get out your 20-sided dice and join us in a game of Dungeons and Dragons. Scott McNulty is our DM. Jason, Ren, Dan, Steve, and Tony are our party. Things don’t go well.

Load your shotgun and gather your platonic apocalypse friends around you! It’s time for us to discuss two books about the end of the world, Peter Heller’s “The Dog Stars” and Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road.” Do names matter when the world has ended? We also revisit John Siracusa’s doomsday plans (a moat is involved), Lex offers a depressing death plan, Jason extolls the virtue of dirty apocalypses, and Scott laughs it up from his apartment full of canned food.

A behind-the-scenes discussion of The Incomparable’s radioplay special. Plus outtakes and the original read-through of “The Fog.”

How much do we love old-time radio dramas and full-cast audioplays? This much.

Don’t make us angry… you wouldn’t like us when we’re angry. Our Comic Book Club talks all things Hulk. We begin with a discussion of two She-Hulk series, by John Byrne and Dan Slott, and then move to talk about Proper Hulk, Gray Hulk, Red Hulk, Planet Hulk, Ruffalo Hulk, and more! Plus: What are we reading? (Jason gets really excited about “Hawkeye,” who is not a Hulk.) And, other than being green, how is the Hulk like parsley? Channel your inner rage and listen to this episode.

John Siracusa assigns us two animated films from director Satoshi Kon, “Perfect Blue” and “Millennium Actress.” Then we watch them! Featuring: What to look for in Anime tropes, blurring of reality and fantasy, when animation is better than live action, and the lovingly rendered start-up sequence of a Macintosh Performa.

Disconnect the intelligent computer that runs your entire planetary society, because it’s time for the second half of our discussion of the original “Star Trek.” What do today’s kids think of this nearly 50-year-old show? We ponder the gender politics of splitting Captain Kirk (and a little dog in a weird costume) into good and evil halves. And what about the low standards of the Enterprise’s Engineering department? Please listen: It will only take 71 of your Earth minutes! (Part 2 of 2.)

Lay in a course and set your phaser to stun! We discuss our favorite (and least favorite) episodes of the original “Star Trek” series. Was Dr. McCoy promoting vegetarianism? Why did Spock have such a lovely collection of hats? What does Bob Barker have to do with the Guardian of Forever? Join us as we boldly go where so many have gone before. (Part 1 of 2.)

Cut off your thumb and send it to a friend just to see what grows! In this episode of our Book Club, we talk about Daniel O’Malley’s modern supernatural fantasy novel, “The Rook.” (We liked it a lot!) It’s sort of about a supernatural version of Britain’s MI-5, written by an American-educated Australian civil servant. Also: What are Scott, Dan, and Jason reading?