The Incomparable

Here be dragons! Special guest hosts Glenn Fleishman and Lisa Schmeiser discuss books featuring winged and scaly creatures, from Anne McCaffrey to George R.R. Martin. Glenn and Lisa are joined by special guest stars Dori Smith and Sarah Barbour, who are also knowledgeable in the ways of the dragon.

Get out your magic wands, prepare your incantations, and prepare for a battle of wills involving ancient powers and callow youths. We discuss two recent novels with magic at the fore: Lev Grossman’s “The Magicians” and Erin Morgenstern’s “The Night Circus.” One of them we liked a lot… the other, not so much! Prepare yourself for a magical podcast.

It’s the Incomparable Game Show! In a clash of young(ish) versus old(ish), two teams vie for the honor of being the team who wins. Sci-fi questions, confused androids, and a visit from a parallel-universe version of The Incomparable are all part of the story. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you won’t learn a darned thing. Join us, won’t you?

Please join us for Jason and John’s survey of the films of director Hayao Miyazaki. Even if you don’t have kids, like animation, or care about Japan, we think these are some of the greatest films ever made. From “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” to “Spirited Away” and “Nausicaa,” we cover the highlights (and oddities) of his filmmaking career.

Who Watches the Watchmen? We discuss Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s classic comic “Watchmen.” What made it remarkable and influential? Is it too stuck in an ’80s sensibility? Did the movie ruin everything? And will the recently-announced prequels stink?

It’s the end of the world! And since our eyeglasses are intact, we have time enough at last, to read. We discuss Maureen McHugh’s “After the Apocalypse” short-story collection, Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,” and other apocalypse tales we have known. Do zombies have their own David Attenborough, leading expeditions into Cleveland? Why should you be afraid if heavy snowfall combines with the appearance of strange invisible magic ghost sex-dragon monsters? And why does John Siracusa plan to ride out the apocalypse in style? We ask several of these questions, but you’ll have to listen to see if we ever answer any of them.

We close the books on the first Incomparable Film Festival with this special follow-up episode. We provide the show times for each day of the festival, share your feedback, and reveal the results of your vote for the best slate of films. We also check in with two panelists who couldn’t make the original draft, one of whom has a bone to pick with John Siracusa. The other one instead tells a heartwarming tale of projectile vomiting. (Part 3 of 2.)

Continuing our assembly of the Incomparable Film Festival! We fill out our list of 35 classic films for imaginary display to imaginary crowds. Find out our final 21 (or is it 22?) choices! Then vote for your favorites. (Part 2 of 2.)

We’re creating the Incomparable Film Festival! Each day for a week, one of us will introduce five films (to be screened at an imaginary location not to be determined). To prevent duplication of selections, our seven participants will choose favorite films in a draft format. When all is said and done, 35 classic movies will be chosen by our panel of geeks. (Part 1 of 2.)

Our Comic Book Club gets in a romantic mood with a discussion of comic-book romances—the (very) few that have stood the test of time and the (very) many that have been thwarted by clones, telepaths, cloned telepaths, and—worst of all—Satan’s Annulment. Also, what are we reading?

Step through your time portal, buy some cheap 1950s hamburger, and prepare for our discussion of Stephen King’s new novel 11/22/63. How does a 21st century man react to the racism and sexism of the south in the mid-20th century? Would the world have been a better place if Kennedy hadn’t been assassinated? Is Canada really eyeing the state of Maine anxiously? Like the book, we have some—but not all—of the answers.

Live from the Macworld |iWorld Live Stage, it’s a discussion of our favorite (and least favorite) uses of technology in movies, TV shows, books, and more.

Go north, get lamp, and check your inventory, as guest host Greg Knauss takes you on a journey into the world of interactive fiction, also known as “text adventures.” Did families in the ’80s really sit around the Apple II playing “Mystery House?” Will saving a game really erase your floppy disc? Listen if you dare, but watch out for grues!

It’s fun for the whole family, as we discuss some of our favorite movies for kids (and their parents). Did we really recommend an animated movie from Dreamworks? And a movie with Melanie Griffith? And a German fantasy film? Well, yes, but you’ll have to listen to find out which ones.

We bid farewell to 2011 by listing the favorite things we inhaled into our brains during the past year. We also recall our favorite podcast moments, read a whole bunch of listener comments, and more. (Although this is a clip show, two-thirds of the running time is actually original material!)

All hail the power of motherhood! We discuss this year’s “Doctor Who” Christmas special, “The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe.” Plus, why Christmas episodes make us feel warm inside, and the amazing scanner-blocking powers of wool!

Grab some eggnog and hitch up your reindeer! It’s time to put six holiday films in the Incomparable Film Vault! We discuss some beloved classics and offer a few surprise choices that redefine what “holiday” and “film” actually mean. What is a realistic depiction of Santa? Is Bill Murray’s best Scrooge not actually in “Scrooged”? Has Clarence the angel left a trail of dead bodies behind him? Is Kris Kringle the original Apple Genius? Happy holidays, everyone!

It turns out we all like They Might Be Giants! So we did an entire episode about geeky music. We pick favorite TMBG songs, and then bring up some other geeky tracks we love by Fountains of Wayne, Moxy Früvous, and “Weird Al” Yankovic.

Break out your gaming laptop and pass the ammunition: It’s time to discuss Neal Stephenson’s “REAMDE.” Why does the book’s plot take a hard left turn halfway through? Why does Stephenson struggle to write endings—and does he succeed this time? Is this book about family, the victory of the outsider, or blowing things up? (Can’t it be all three?)

Gather some bounty hunters and warm up the carbon freezer! It’s time for the conclusion of our epic discussion of “The Empire Strikes Back.” We dissect the evolution of the Han-Leia relationship, the truly playful nature of Yoda and the importance of Dagobah, Vader’s agenda and his crunchy gloves, and Luke’s continuing adventures with garbage.