Tag Archives: community

Storytelling, Ghosts, & Pop Culture Wormholes

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On this episode, Earl and Shawn hang out with Keith McNally before he ships out for the Maritimes! They fall down the pop culture rabbit hole of ’80s TV shows, cancelled series, movie novelizations, and Keith was up to in ye olden days of the internet. They also get into storytelling, how it works in video games, branching storylines, and rag on Bioshock Infinite a lot. And along the way, Keith reveals his wrestling magazine knowledge, Shawn wants to start a Josie and the Pussycats tumblr, and Earl invokes the vengeful spirit of Roger Ebert.

Guest:
Keith McNally (@keithmcnally) – Host of The Vinyl Countdown

What we’ve been checking out:
Keith: High Maintenance (Webseries)
Shawn: Summer Games Done Quick (Speedrun videos)
Earl: Rectify (TV)

Audio notes: (1hr. 16min. runtime)
0:00:50 – Introducing Keith, olden days of the internet, Roger Ebert, and movie novelizations
0:09:50 – Firefly, cancelled shows, Quantum Leap, Sliders, The A-Team, and TV finales
0:18:35 – Books on games, Worlds of Power, working at a comic book shop, travelling, and stories in games
0:29:00 – Mass Effect, GTA, multiple endings, branching stories, and voices in Stanley Parable & Gone Home
0:41:05 – Bioshock series, travelling through space and time, comparing to The Last of Us, and Ghost of the Year
0:54:25 – Kentucky Route Zero, David Cage & Heavy Rain, playing hard games, and indie games
1:09:55 – What’s everyone checking out?

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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Archer, Community, & Revamping TV Shows

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On today’s episode, we talk about Archer and Community! Andrew Lawrence returns to talk about both series and the idea of revamping TV shows in the middle of its run, like It’s Always Sunny, Parks and Rec, and even Friday Night Lights. We also discuss introducing new shows to people with out-of-order episodes. And somehow we manage to tie in Juno, Back to the Future, and LA Noire to the discussion. (Light spoilers for the shows, tagged in the recording.)

Guests:
Andrew Lawrence – “Phrasing”

Audio notes: (56min. runtime)
0:01:00 – Archer Vice, retreading old territory, and character dynamics
0:13:40 – Community’s fifth season, improving the show, and being weird
0:26:15 – Arrested Development, It’s Always Sunny, and making terrible people worse
0:39:25 – Parks & Recreation, Friday Night Lights, and changing gears half-way

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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Sherlock / Elementary

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This week, we’re talking about the Brit hit Sherlock, and its American counterpart, Elementary! Earl brings in Spencer Sterritt from We Eat Films to discuss the mystery shows, serialization in procedurals, and build a fantasy roster of Doctor Who writers. They also end up on a tangent about spoilers when Spencer explains that he hasn’t watched the latest season of Sherlock. What a twist! (Spoilers for all of Sherlock, and season one of Elementary.)

Guests:
Spencer Sterritt – Editor-in-chief for We Eat Films

Audio notes: (46min. runtime)
0:00:35 – Impressions on Sherlock, spoilers & avoiding viewings, and main villains
0:08:30 – Adapting Sherlock’s “death”, sleuthing vs. hanging out, and building tension
0:13:15 – Season gaps, series longevity, book adaptation, Moffat’s writing, Doctor who writers, and burnout
0:24:00 – Impressions on Elementary, comparing with Sherlock, and Lucy Liu as Watson
0:33:50 – Creating a distinction between the series, procedurals, serialization, and mythology
0:36:00 – Modernizing Sherlock, and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century
0:40:00 – Future of Sherlock, speculation, and expectation

Theme: Coconut Robot2 (James Pants) / CC BY 3.0
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Title Sequences

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Cue music, insert titles… All Kinds of Philler. This episode is all about title sequences in film and television, which means opening titles, stingers, studio logos, and ending credits. Earl brings in Anna again to talk about some of the most iconic and memorable sequences in visual media. It’s a whirlwind discussion about memorable themes, ever-changing sequences, and what makes a great title. And somehow, they end up spoiling the intro to Lord of War. It’s a very distilled episode, with many examples left on the cutting room floor, but goes through a wide range of choices both obscure and popular.

Guests:
Anna (@gobanana66)

Supplemental notes:
Playlist of selected titles discussed
Art of the Title

Audio notes: (1hr. 15min. runtime)
01:00 – Interest in motion design
02:25 – Design sensibilities: Game of Thrones, and Scott Pilgrim
07:00 – Comparing American Psycho and Dexter
10:05 – TV vs. film openings
11:05 – Setting up films: Enter the Void, Darkplace, Lord of War, and Watchmen
18:15 – Updating sequences: Supernatural, and The Simpsons
25:20 – Kyle Cooper and David Fincher: Se7en, and Fight Club
28:32 – Prologue Films: Iron Man, Speed Racer, and 21 Jump Street
31:40 – Imaginary Forces: Marvel Studios, DC Studios, and Rubicon
38:40 – Jared and Jerusha Hess: Napoleon Dynamite and Gentlemen Broncos
42:25 – Changing sequences: James Bond, Community, and Drew Carey Show
51:05 – Music: Bob’s Burgers, Chuck, Mad Men, and Clone High
58:00 – Comparing X-Files and Fringe, and ageless actors
64:25 – Revisiting the Dexter intro
65:15 – Comparisons: Snatch vs. Baccano, and James Bond vs. Archer
67:55 – Iconic titles: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, ’60s Batman, and Star Wars

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